Nutritional Needs for Life Stages

Nutritional requirements for a human body change over the course of a lifetime. Each stage of life has specific requirements for calories, nutrients, activity, and rest. For example, a pregnant woman has different metabolism and nutritive needs than that of a teenage boy. Identifying how your body’s nutritional needs change can encourage a lifetime of healthy habits.

In this Discussion, you will identify the nutritional needs of different life stages and create a meal plan for a specific stage.

To prepare for this Discussion:

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• Review Chapter 11 of the course text, Nutrition for Life.
  
• Think about the different needs as we progress through life stages, as well as the different needs between males and females.
  
• Choose one life stage to explore:
  
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  • Pregnancy
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  • Infancy
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  • Childhood
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  • Adulthood
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  • Older Adulthood

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 3 a 2- to 3-paragraph summary proposing a meal plan for one complete day that would meet the needs of an individual in the life stage you chose. For your chosen life stage, determine the following:

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• General daily caloric needs and 2–3 RDAs for various vitamins and/or minerals that are of special consideration
• Special diet and exercise needs
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• Special hormonal considerations and how this might impact food requirements
• A few key differences in needs between your chosen stage and another life stage

Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to the week’s Learning Resources, or something you have read, heard, seen, or experienced. Use at least two APA-formatted references for full credit.