Child Health And Nutrition(DECE2) IGNOU Unit Wise Solution Day 1(ENGLISH)

Unit-18 Major Nutrition Programme

Unit-19 Major Health Programme

Unit-20 Assessment of Nutritional Status

furnish energy. The absorption and utilization of food by the body is fundamental to

nutrition and is facilitated by digestion. Plants, which convert solar energy to food

by photosynthesis, are the primary food source. Animals that feed on plants often serve as

sources of food for other animals. To learn more about the sequence of transfers of matter

and energy in the form of food from organism to organism, see food chain.

Hunting and gathering, horticulture, pastoralism, and the development of

agriculture are the primary means by which humans have adapted to their

environments to feed themselves. Food has long served as a carrier of culture in

human societies and has been a driving force for globalization. This was especially

the case during the early phases of European trade and colonial expansion, when

foods such as the hot red pepper, corn (maize), and sweet potatoes spread

throughout Furope to Africa and Asia.

Nutrient: A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and

reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals,

plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic

purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures, such as

hair, scales, feathers, or exoskeletons. Some nutrients can be metabolically converted

but not to all animals and not to plants, which are able to

synthesize it. Nutrients may be organic or inorganic: organic compounds include

most compounds containing carbon, while all other chemicals are inorganic.

Inorganic nutrients include nutrients such as iron, selenium, and zinc, while organic

nutrients include, among many others, energy-providing compounds and vitamins.

Ans. You are now familiar with the fact that food contains several nutrients. In fact,

there are over forty essential nutrients which are supplied by the food we eat.

These nutrients can be classified into the following major categories (based on

certain similar features): proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water.

Water is important as a nutrient as well as a food.

Each of the nutrient categories has a specific physiological role to play. Here the term

“physiological role” refers to the role of nutrients and therefore of food in

maintaining certain specific body functions. Food also has social and psychological

functions in addition to physiological ones.

We need energy every moment of our lives for performing various activities such as

sitting, standing, walking, running, performing household work and other tasks.

Several activities take place within the body as well e.g. beating of the heart,

contraction of the intestines and expansion and contraction of the lungs, even

though we are not always aware of them. These too require expenditure of energy.

The energy-giving function of food is basically performed by two nutrient categories

Carbohydrates And Fats.

Food is also needed for growth and repair. You are already familiar with the term
“growth”. It refers to an increase in size of the various parts of the body. How does
this growth come about? As you know, our body is made up of millions of units
called cells. When growth takes place, new cells are added to the existing ones.
The existing ones also increase in size. At the same time, cells do get worn out and
die. These cells have to be replaced. This process is called repair. For both growth
and repair, proteins are necessary. We can understand the role of proteins in growth
and development if we just think of the tremendous increase in height and weight
that occurs from infancy to adulthood.
The other major physiological functions performed by food are the protective and
regulatory functions. Let us talk about the meaning of the term “protective” first.
Here protective refers to the role of food in preventing infection by ensuring proper
functioning of the body systems responsible for fighting infections. Even if a person
does develop an infection or any other type of illness, food and the nutrients it
contains facilitate rapid recovery. A person eating a poor diet would take much
longer to recover. He would get ill more easily as well.
The regulatory function refers to the role of food in controlling body processes. As
you are aware, several processes take place in the body such as beating of heart,
maintenance of body temperature and contraction of muscles. Each of these
processes is controlled. Our body temperature, for example, is maintained at 98.4″F
or 37°C. Similarly, the rate at which the heart beats is also maintained. You are also
probably aware that several chemical reactions take place in the body.
With the help of these chemical reactions, complex substances are broken down into
their simpler components. Similarly, simpler substances are used to build more
complex substances. The rate at which these reactions proceed is carefully controlled
according to the need of the body. Vitamins and minerals contribute substantially to
both protective and regulatory functions. So do proteins and water.
Social Functions: Food has a significant social meaning, Sharing food with any other
person implies social acceptance. Earlier only persons enjoying equal status in
society ate together. A person would never share a meal with someone inferior to
him in social terms. Of course, we observe considerable change in this respect now,
particularly in cities and towns. In a restaurant, for example, any person can eat with
the others irrespective of his social background if he has the money to pay for the
food.
Food is an integral part of festivity anywhere in the world. You must have surely
noticed that joyous occasions such as the birth of a child or a marriage are celebrated
by giving feasts and serving delicacies. Festivals such as Diwali, Dussehra, Pongal,

Onam, Lohri, Holi, Christmas and Id are celebrated by having special and prescribed

menus. In all these cases, food serves the function of bringing people together.

food items such as fruits, sweets and coconuts are offered to the deity in temples.

Often sweets are prepared at temples and Gurudwaras and distributed to devotees

as a benediction or Prasad. Further, people of a given religious community share a

common eating pattern. This is because their religious texts and practices strongly

recommend some foods while rejecting others. Food thus becomes an integral part of

the social and religious life of people.

Ans. Handling of Food and Nutrients by the Body: How does the body handle

tube-like structure called the intestine. All this while, the nature of food is being

changed and it is being converted into utilizable forms. This process is called

digestion.

Once digestion is completed the nutrients, now available to the body in a form in

which it can use them, move from the intestine into the blood. This process is known

as absorption. The blood then transports these nutrients to all the cells of the body

where they are utilized for different functions.