Anorexia

If adolescents are taught the importance of nutrition and follow the guidelines for healthy eating habits, they can help promote a healthy lifestyle and prevent adult onset diseases from happening.Nutrition is the study of nutrients in foods and in the body. Nutrients are the chemical substances or nourishing elements found in food (concepts 262). Adolescence is the second most critical period of physical growth in the life cycle after the first years of life. For many adolescents, inadequate quality and quantity of food are the prime determinates of nutrition problems. Many health problems later in life can be improved by adopting healthy lifestyle habits in adolescence. Adolescence have an increased nutritional need at this time in their life due to the fact that adolescents gain up to fifty percent of their adult weight, height, and of their adult skeletal mass. The beginning of adolescence is a time of very great change in their life. They begin puberty and body structure changes. During adolescence there is a high incidence of nutritional deficiencies and poor eating habits. This may lead to consequences in later years including osteoporosis, obesity, hyperlipedemia, sexual maturation delays, and final adult height. In addition, the development of eating disorders is very prominent during this period. Risks for nutritional deficiencies include eating disorders, chronic medical conditions, use of alcohol or drugs, and strict vegan diet.

There are fifty nutrients that foods contain that the body is unable to produce. The nutrients are grouped into six main categories: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. They are used for three essential purposes; to provide energy, form body structures, and help regulate the body's metabolism. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are the used to provide the body with energy. Vitamins, minerals, and water are used to regulate the body processes.

Carbohydrates are organic compounds that provide the body and brain with glucose (conc 263). Carbohydrate is the fuel in which our body functions run on(diet and nut 49). Our diets should include fifty-eight to sixty percent of carbohydrates. There are three types of carbohydrates complex carbohydrates (starches), simple carbohydrates (sugars), and fiber (conc 263).

Proteins are chains of amino acids. They are the building blocks of tissue. Proteins make up about sixteen percent of our body weight. Proteins are essential for the growth and repair of tissues such as blood, bones, muscles, skin, hair, nails, and internal organs. They regulate the body's chemical processes, carry nutrients to body cells, form enzymes, formulate hormones, and protect against diseases because they are the main factor in antibody forming (con 271).

Vitamins are organic substances essential for normal growth. They are needed in small amounts to carry out a variety of their duties, such as metabolic and nutrition functions. They help to put the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates to use. Vitamins produce the chemical reactions used in manufacturing hormones and blood cells, causes good vision, promote strong bones and teeth, and ensure proper functioning of the nervous system and heart (conc 274)..

Minerals are inorganic substances that make up four percent of body weight and are vital to mental and physical functioning. There are many minerals that are essential to life(conc 277). The body absolutely can not make a single mineral, so therefore it must be attained through the foods we eat. Minerals functions include build bones and teeth, maintain the acidity level balance of the blood, promote normal blood clotting, promote normal heart rhythm, maintain water balance, and regulate muscular contraction and metabolic process (conc 278).

Water is the most important nutrient to the body. Sixty percent of the body's weight is made up of water and the brain is made up of seventy-five percent water. Water is essential to digest and absorb nutrients, regulate body temperature, lubricate joints, remove waste products, transport oxygen and nutrients, and build and rebuild cells. Water is so important that a person can only survive three days without it(conc 272).

Fat is the main contributor to weight gain. It should compose of twenty to thirty percent of daily calories. The diet of Americans consist of a high range of numbers. Too much of this can lead to Type II diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and cancer of the colon, uterus, breast and prostate (conc 266). The type of fat one eats is also a very important factor. There are three types of fat: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Saturated fat is found in animal products such as lard, butter, cheese, milk pork, beef, bacon, hot dogs, chocolate, and cocoa. They increase the levels of blood fat cholesterol. Saturated fat is solid at room temperature. Monunsaturated fats are fats with only one double bond of unsaturated carbons in a carbon chain. They are found in foods such as olives, peanuts, cashews, canola oil, peanut oil, and olive oil. Polyunsaturated fats are fats that contain two or more double bonds between unsaturated fats along the carbon atom chain. They are found in foods such as mayonnaise, margarine, pecans, almonds, walnuts, sunflower oil, soybean oil. Sesame oil, safflower oil, and corn oil(con266).

Calcium is a mineral that is mostly present in one's bones. Having a diet with foods that are high in calcium to meet daily requirements is necessary for the development of strong, healthy bones. It will also aid in the prevention of osteoporosis. Ninety-nine percent of the body's

calcium is found in the bones and teeth, for the formation and maintance, the remaining one percent is found in fluids and soft tissue, where it is critical for proper functioning of nerve and muscle cell(surg 315). Without calcium the nerve cells can not conduct impulses, the heart can not beat, and the brain function cannot function(con278).

Iron is a mineral that is important for growth. It is necessary for the dev of strong muscles and production of blood ( ). It is an essential ingredient in hemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lung to the body tissues.

Skeletal Disease is a major disease influenced by nutrition. Osteoporosis is a one of these diseases. It is characterized by a decrease in the amount of bone mass,often so severe that it leads to a fracture. There are two types of osteoporosis Type I and Type II Type I occurs after accelerated decrease in bone mass that occurs when estrogen levels decline after menopause. Type II occurs after the loss of bone mass with age that occurs in both men and women (srg 314). Osteoporosis affects fifteen to twenty million Americans, causing one point three million fractures of the vertebrae, hips,

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