38-Year-Old Woman Nutritional Status in Relation to the UK Dietary Guidelines - Case Study Example

?Analysis of a 38 year old woman nutritional status in relation to the UK dietary guidelines College: Introduction Preventative strategies with the objective of improving the quality of the diet through food-based approaches have been devised to guide persons so that to improve the choices of diet throughout their life cycle. Food selection guides have persistently had a strong focus on promoting the consumption of a wide food variety to attain nutritional adequacy globally and are a frequently applied National educational tool (Gregory et al. 2000). There is limited data on whether reproductive-aged women that include the 38 years old woman in the case study consume foods basing on the National food-based recommendations. There has been reports by several studies on food and nutrient group intakes or grams of particular foods or food groups (Gregory et al. 2000), but the whole diet adequacy relative to National recommendations has not been examined fully. In this case study when food groups or grams of foods is reported, it might be of benefit to this 38 years old bus driver woman as it will help her to improve her health through diet intake improvement. Fat and Energy (calories) intake The total carbohydrate intake of this 38 years old woman is 37.6% .This value is below the dietary reference value (DRV) 5 which is 50% of food energy for both women and men. For fats, the intake is observed to be 44.9%.This value is higher than the dietary reference value (DRV)5 that is 35%. According to past adult survey undertaken in 1986/876, total intake of fat is observed to have decreased since then. However, the energy proportion derived from saturated fat still exceeds the dietary reference value of food energy (11%) (Gregory et al. 2000). Also, in the survey conducted in 2002, the food energy percentage derived from non-milk extrinsic sugars was 11.9% for women and 13.6% for men (Gregory et al. 2000). This exceeds the 11% DRV of food energy. Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP, or fiber) The non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) average daily intake of the woman is observed to be below the recommended average intake of 18g per day for all age and sex groups, according to recent studies, it is observed that a third of adults have intakes that is less than 12g a day (Department of Health,1999). Intakes are specifically low among those in the age bracket of 119-40 where average intakes are 10.6 for women and 12.3g for men. Vitamins The woman’s average intake of all vitamins is below the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI), except for vitamin A that is higher. The nutritional status assessment indicates issues relating to low vitamin D status and inadequate foliate and vitamin C concentrations in this woman. Adults that rarely move outside, or who put on restrictive clothing won’t be in a position to get sufficient Vitamin D from their diet alone .Therefore, they require vitamin D supplements(Department of Health,1999). Minerals Iron intake of the woman is well below the RNI. Nutritional status assessment can indicate issues relating to low iron status. The average intake for some of the other minerals was as well below the RNI for the woman. Results indicate low intakes of magnesium and potassium; this is well below the RNI for all female age groups and the youngest male group RNI (Department of Health,1999). Issues relating to low intakes of zinc and iodine were apparent as well in this woman, and concerns with intakes of copper and calcium were highlighted as well. Sodium/salt The average salt/sodium intake for the woman is estimated to be 3.5g per day overall .This result indicates the average intakes to be well below the maximum daily intake that is recommended (6g per day7) (Ashwell et al. 2006). Obesity and Overweight The body mass index of the woman is observed to be 26.This indicates that the woman is overweight and she needs to do something or else she might turn out to be obese. Data on obesity and overweight levels in the UK among adults from the 2010 Health Survey for England indicates that there are a significant % of adult women and men who are obese (with a body mass index that is greater than 30kg/m2) (Ashwell et al. 2006). About 16% of women and 23.6% of men in England are known to be obese and about 2/3 of all the adults known to be overweight with a body mass index that is at least 25 kg/m2). Given the rising obesity levels in the UK, it is critical not to be above the average energy (calorie) requirements. Therefore, it is recommended that the key meals need to provide nutrient-dense food. This means, food that contains high nutrients levels but it is not supposed to be correspondingly higher in calories (Ashwell et al. 2006). Persons in the normal bodyweight range (BMI 20-25 kg/m2) have high energy needs due to high consumption rate of calories. Such people need to consume more carbohydrate-based foods at meals to achieve their higher energy requirements without increasing disproportionately their fat intake, sugar, saturated fat or salt. Based on the recent nutritional status assessments for the UK population, it seems to be prudent to ensuring that food served at main meals and at breakfast in public institutions provides enhanced amounts of foliate, fiber, iron, zinc and vitamin C. To ensure that the maximum intake of the population’s fat, sugars, saturated fat and salt are within the recommendations that is current, it is critical to ensure these nutrients are not exceeded in the suggested guidance. It is also critical to ensure that meals consumed should offer the opportunity to increase vegetable and fruit intakes. There are several menus provided for adults aged 19-74 years such as this woman in the case study (Food Standards Agency, 2002). The menus outline the sorts of drinks and foods that might be given to make sure that adults have the opportunity to consume a balanced and healthy diet that can correct the current insufficiencies as well as provide amounts of saturated fat, fat, sugar and salt in line with current recommendations. Fluid intakes It is critical to access adequate fluid intakes throughout the day. In climates such as the one for UK, it is required to drink about 1.2 litres (6 - 8 glasses) of fluid every day in order not to be dehydrated. In hotter climates the body requires more than this. Some fluids are obtained from the food that is consumed but it is critical that fluids are not restricted because dehydration can result to confusion, headaches, irritability, and constipation, lack of concentration and urinary tract infections. Clean, chilled water need to be always available between meals and with meals. Bibliography Gregory JR, Lowe S, Bates B, et al. (2000).National Diet and Nutrition Survey: young people aged 4 to 18 years. Department of Health . Report on health and social subjects No. 41. HMSO; London: 1991. Dietary reference values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom. Ashwell M, Barlow S, Gibson S, et al. (2006).National Diet and Nutrition Surveys: the British Experience. Public Health Nutr.;9:523–530. Food Standards Agency . McCance and Widdowson’s( 2002).The Composition of Foods. 6th ed. Royal Society of Chemistry; Cambridge Read More