|
|
|
| NUTRITION IN CHILDHOOD |
Ms Chetali Agarwal
Consultant Dietician- Bhatia Hospital
Consultant Dietician- Jain Clinic
|
INTRODUCTION
|
Because children are growing and developing bones, teeth, muscles and blood, they need more nutritious food in proportion to their weight in comparison to an adult.
Malnutrition, hence becomes very common when they have a prolonged poor appetite, or are fed with a limited number of foods which may be nutritionally poor foods.
|
NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INFANTS.
|
The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) are based on the current knowledge of nutrient intakes needed by children of different ages for optimal health.
RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCES FOR INDIANS
(Ref Nin)
Group |
Particulars |
Body
WtKg
|
Net energy
kcal/d
|
Protein
g/d
|
Fat
g/d
|
Calcium
mg/d
|
Iron
mg/d
|
Vit.A. µpg/d
retinol
|
Vit.A. pg/d
ß-carotene
|
Infants |
0-6 months
6-12 months |
5.4
8.6 |
108/kg
98/kg |
2.05/kg
1.65/kg |
|
500
|
|
350 |
1200 |
Children |
1-3 years
4-6years
7-9 years |
12.2
19.0
26.9 |
1240
1690
1950 |
22
30
41 |
25 |
400 |
12
18
26 |
400
400
600 |
1600 |
| 25 |
400 |
| 25 |
400 |
2400 |
| Boys |
10-12 years |
35.4 |
2190 |
54 |
22 |
600 |
34 |
600 |
2400 |
| Girls |
10-12 years |
31.5 |
1970 |
57 |
19 |
| Group |
Particulars |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Infants |
0-6 months
6-12 months |
5.4
8.6
|
108/kg
98/kg
|
2.05/kg
1.65/kg
|
|
500 |
|
350 |
1200 |
Children |
1-3years
4-6years
7-9years |
12.2
19.0
26.9
|
1240
1690
1950
|
22
30
41 |
25 |
400 |
12
18
26 |
400
400
600 |
1600 |
25 |
400 |
2400 |
25 |
400 |
2400 |
Boys |
10-12 years |
35.4 |
2190 |
54 |
22 |
600 |
34 |
600 |
2400 |
Girls |
10-12 years |
31.5 |
1970 |
57 |
19 |
The Food and Nutrition Board has recognized that human milk is the best food for infants and will meet the nutritive requirements early in life when it is supplied in sufficient quality.
The nutrient allowances are stated.
The caloric need in an infant is high in terms of his body weight. The allowance of 130-150 Kcal per Kilogram for the infant at birth is necessary.
Eg : 130 Kcal/Kg.
Infant's birth weight = 3Kg.
=> 130 x 3 = 390 Kcals.
Hence, the caloric need should be approximately 450 - 500 Kcal.
Since the activity of infants varies widely, an allowance that is correct for one infant may be too high or too low for others
The infant adds about 2.5 gm protein to his body after about 1.65 gm/kg per day for the rest of the year.
The water loss from the skin is large because of the greater surface area in relation to body weight. Infants require about 150 ml water per 100 calories. This requirement is met by breast milk.
Studies have proved that infants receiving human milk absorbed 50 - 60 percent of the total calcium, where as those receiving commercial formula absorbed about 25 - 30 percent of the total calcium.
The circulating hemoglobin of the well nourished infant is ample during the first three months, after which foods providing iron must be added in order to meet the needs of the expanding blood volume. The incidence of anemia is high in infants, usually appearing by the age of six months.
Although many trace elements are needed by the infant, the exact requirements have not been determined. It is safe to assure that humans milk will supply adequate amounts.
Human milk will furnish sufficient vitamin A & vitamin E
Human milk from the well - nourished mother supplies sufficient ascorbic acid for the infants needs, although supplements are generally introduced early.
The allowances for thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2) and niacin (B3) have been set up proportionate to the caloric intake. These allowances are easily met by human milk.
The infant is born with a store of vitamin B6 that protects him during the neonatal period as human milk is very low in this vitamin.
|
BREAST FEEDING IS THE BEST FEEDING FOR BABY
|
Mother's milk is nature's gift to infants. Practically all mothers produce sufficient milk to meet the food requirementss of the normal infant for first three months. There is really no condition where breast- feeding is contraindicated. By and large from the time of birth upto the age of 3 months breast milk alone is adequate for the needs of the growing baby.
The thick yellowish breast milk, which is produced during the first 2-3 days after birth, is called colostrum. The colostrum contains less fat and lactose than mature milk and more sodium, chloride and zinc. It is rich in antibody protein especially immunoglobin A(IgA) and lactoferrin. It guards the infant against infection. Feeding of colostrum is wrongly believed to be unhygienic in certain communities, perhaps due to its yellowish colour. Such practices should be stopped as it deprives the infant of its natural resources of nutrients and antibodies.
Feeding on demand is recommended each time the baby is hungry. Duration of feeding varies from infant to infant and may range from 5-30 minutes and, or even more. The mother should be as comfortable as possible while breast feeding. She should ensure that the baby's nostrils are not obstructed by the breast.The mother should feed the baby at one breast till the milk is totally sucked and then if the baby is still hungry,the baby should be fed at the other breast.This ensures increased milk production and also the baby recieves hindmilk which is rich in fat.
|
ADVANTAGES OF BREAST FEEDING
|
1.
Provides optimum nutrition required by the newborn.
2. Provide anti-infective factors through breast milk especially colostrum.
3. Safer due to reduced chance of infection as compared to artificial feeding.
4. Involves close contact of mother with infant which facilitates bonding.
5. Prevents neonatal health problems like hypoglycemia, allergies, diarrhea & malnutrition
6. For mother it contributes to natural contraception and thus helps in child spacing.
COMPOSITION OF BREAST MILK COMPARED TO COW'S MILK (Per 100gm)
|
HUMAN'S
MILK |
COW'S
MILK |
|
HUMAN'S
MILK |
COW'S
MILK |
Water (gm) |
85.2 |
87.4 |
Sodium(mg) |
16.0 |
50.0 |
Energy (kcal) |
77.0 |
65.0 |
Potassium(mg) |
51.0 |
144.0 |
Protein (gm) |
1.1 |
3.5 |
Vitamin A(IU) |
240.0 |
140.0 |
Fat (gm) |
4.0 |
3.5 |
Thiamine (mg) |
0.01 |
0.03 |
CHO (gm) |
9.5 |
4.9 |
Riboflavin(mg) |
0.04 |
0.17 |
Total ash (gm) |
0.2 |
0.7 |
Niacin (mg) |
0.2 |
0.1 |
Calcium (mg) |
33.0 |
118.0 |
Ascorbic acid (mg) |
5.0 |
1.0 |
| |
14.0
|
93.0 |
|
|
|
HUMAN'S MILK |
COW'S MILK |
| 1. 60% of protein is lactalbumin and the remaining is casein |
1.15% of protein is lactalbumin and the remaining is casein. |
2. It forms soft curds and is therefore easily digestible
|
2.It forms larger, tougher curds and therefore slowly digestible. |
|
3. It has fats of long chain fatty acids |
3.It has fats of short chain fatty acids which acts as irritants to the intestinal tract. |
| 4. It has low contents of calcium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium but is easily absorbed |
4.It has higher contents of calcium, phosphorus Na & K. Some healthy infants fed cow's milk have a syndrome of convulsion known as neonatal tetany about the sixth day of life. This is believed to be due to high blood phosphorus level
|
| 5.Ash content it three times less than in cow's milk. |
5.Cow's milk has three times more ash content than in human milk & because of the lesser capacity of the infant's kidney to excrete wastes, the high ash content of cow's milk may prevent too high a solute load, which may cause diarrhoea
|
| 6.It can meet the infant's ascorbic acid requirements. |
6.It cannot meet the infant's ascorbic acid requirement & hence needs to be supplemented.
|
WEANING FOODS (SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING).
|
There is no fixed /set pattern for adding solid foods to the basic milk diet of the infant. Once the infant has developed sufficient muscular co-ordination, involving the tongue & swallowing reflex to be able to eat solid foods, they may be introduced gradually.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW FOOD'S:-
|
Some do’s and dont’s about introducing solid foods are as follows:
-
Introduce only one new food at a time to allow the infant to become familiar with that food before trying to give another.
-
Give very small amounts of any new food: one teaspoonful or two.
-
Use a very thin consistency when starting solid foods. Gradually consistency is more solid as the infant learns how to use his tongue in propelling the food back.
-
Never force an infant to eat more of a food than he takes willingly.
-
If after several times, it is apparent that a baby has an acute dislike for food, omit that item for a week or two and than try it again.
-
Food should be only slightly seasoned with salt, other seasonings are avoided.
-
Variety in choice of foods in important.
-
The mother or anyone feeding the infant should be careful to avoid showing dislike for a food given .
-
Check that the temperature of the food is neither too hot nor too cold.
LIST OF SUPPLEMENTARY FOODS THAT ARE GIVEN:
|
| NAME OF FOOD . |
AGE AT WHICH TO INTRODUCE |
APPROXIMATE
QUANTITY PER FEEDING |
REMARK. |
1) Fruit juices & soups:-
prepared using tomato, onion,carrot, spinach,
mungdal and a little rice
|
5 months |
1-2 tsp twice a day |
All fruit juices may be given without adding sugar. Soups may be seasoned only with salt and a dash of pepper. A blob of butter may enhance taste. Quantity may be increased slowly to the acceptable limits. |
2) Mashed banana, chickoo, stewed apple (prepared with cream, milk)
papaya-stewed, or ;boiled pear, mango |
5 months |
1-2 tsp twice a day |
Banana or sour fruit may cause cough or cold especially in winter. Therefore, they may preferably be introduced in summer. |
3). Porridge prepared using roasted rava with a little ghee and milk. Other cereals that can replace rava are dalia (broken wheat) ragi (nachnil, sago, rice powder and custard flavoured custard powder
& milk. |
One week after starting banana or any other fruit listed above |
1-2 tsps twice a day |
Quantity may be increased every 3 or 4 days. |
4) Soft boiled egg. |
1 week after introducing porridge |
1 tsp yolk |
Egg should be boiled for a minute and immediately cooled under running water to prevent discoloration. Gradually increase quantity of egg yolk and include egg white. By 4 weeks from the day the egg was introduced the child should be, able to eat one whole egg. |
5) Mashed & well cooked vegetables. |
1 week after introducing egg. |
1-2 tsps twice a day |
Potato, pumkin, green leafy vegetables, carrot and peas boiled to soften completely. |
6) Curds. |
1 week after introducing vegetables. |
2-4 tsps |
Fruit yoghurts may also be given. Curds should be just enough set and not be too sour. |
7) Mashed & well cooked rice dal or khichdi |
1 week after introducing curds |
1-2 tsps |
Seasoned with a little oil or butter while serving. |
Other foods that may be introduced are biscuits, chapati soaked in thin dal or in milk, and mixed meat but without spice.
The nutritive value of commercial weaning foods compared to supplementary foods which are readily available food commodities at home is same however, they are much more expensive.
Home - cooked supplementary foods also prepare the child for normal meals which they will soon be consuming along with the other family members.
|
Last created on 23-02-2001
Last updated on 25-04-2007 |
|
|
|
|
|
