Briefly explain how the nutrient needs of adults are influenced by Activity level, Body size, Age

Activity level

Activity levels play an important role in the case of adults both men & women. The higher the activity the more would be the need for energy. In the other words the number of food exchanges including cereals, roots & tubers would increase. The amount of fats & oil to be included would be increased merginally.

As activity level increases energy requirements increase. Hence, more of energy giving foods need to be included. Comparing is done in the food plan for a moderately active woman with that of a sedentary woman.

Body size:

It is noticed that the nutrient needs men & women vary. The energy & protein requirement of the woman is lower than that of man of corresponding age. The basic differencec lies in the body size. In the case of man, the body has more of active tissues such as the muscles. On the other hand, the woman has more of the relatively inactive fatty tissue. The muscles tissue requires more energy for it's activity. As a result, the basal metabolism of the man is higher than that of the woman & hence the energy requirements of the man increases.

Age:

The nutrients need of adults are influenced by the age upto the age of 9 years the food plans for boys & girls are the same because RDIs are identical. After that RDIs are different for boys & girls. There is an increase in the number of food exchanges offered once the preschool stage in the past. The food plans for preschoolers included less cereal, pulse & even fruit, vegetables. For the older children, there is not much variation in the amounts of milk, pulses green leafy vegetable other vegetables & fruits.