Definitions

Normal and Therapeutic Nutrition 3(2+1)
Lesson 1:Food, nutrition, and health

Definitions

  • Nutrition is “ the science of food, nutrients and other substances therein, their action, interaction and balance in relation to health and disease and the process by which the organism ingests, absorbs, transports, utilizes and excretes food substances”.
  • Nutrition (physiology) is the organic process of nourishing or being nourished – the process by which an organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and maintenance.
  • Nutrition is the scientific study of food and drink (especially in humans).
  • Health is defined by WHO as “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.
  • Nutrients are the constituents in food that must be supplied to the body in suitable amounts. They are
  • Nutrients: Chemical substances in food that nourish us by providing energy, materials for building body parts, and factors to regulate needed chemical processes in the body. The body neither can make these nutrients nor can make them fast enough for its needs.

  • Nutritional status is “the condition of health of an individual as influenced by the utilization of nutrients”.
  • Nutritional care is “the application of science and art of human nutrition in helping people select and obtain food for primary purpose of nourishing their bodies in health or disease throughout the life cycle”.
  • Malnutrition is “An impairment of health resulting from deficiency, excess or imbalance of nutrients”.
  • Nutrition survey is “Ascertaining the nutritive quality of diets consumed and the nutritional status of the people in a given population ascertained by using various survey techniques”.
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Last modified: Saturday, 22 October 2011, 9:11 AM