Nutrition and Disease
A disorder of structure or function in a human, one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.
The Relationship between nutrition and disease
Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A crude population measure of obesity is the BMI (Body Mass Index). A person with a BMI over 25 is considered overweight while a BMI over 30 is considered obese. These two issues are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
WHO
Some causes of obesity:
Problems associated with obesity:
Physical problems
Psychosocial Problems
Strategies to combat obesity:
The facts about childhood obesity:
Heart Disease
Heart and blood vessel disease is an umbrella term for any type of disorder that affects the heart like coronary artery disease, heart rhythm problems and heart defects. The most common forms of heart disease involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to heart attack, chest pain or stroke.
Causes of Cardiovascular disease
Risk Factors associated with Heart Disease
Heart Disease Prevention
Cancer
Cancer is the name given to a collection of related diseases. In all types of cancer, some of the body’s cells begin to divide without stopping and spread into surrounding tissues. Cancer can almost start anywhere in the human body. Many forms of cancer form solid tumours. Malignant tumours mean they can spread or invade nearby tissues. Benign tumours do not spread.
As with other diseases nutrition is linked to the prevention of cancer and is also thought to relieve symptoms in cancer patients. It is advised to maintain a healthy diet during cancer treatment but this may be difficult depending on type of cancer.
What affects nutrient absorption during cancer treatment?
Diabetes mellitus is a condition caused by a lack or insufficiency of the hormone insulin. Insulin works by allowing blood sugar to be used as an energy source. If insulin is deficient, blood sugar will build up in the bloodstream. Therefore, diabetes is characterised by high blood sugar levels.
Early symptoms of diabetes:
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body makes insulin but their cells don’t use it as well as they should, this is called insulin resistance.
Symptoms and prevention:
Symptoms are the same as someone with type 1 diabetes.
Prevention/Treatment
A disorder of structure or function in a human, one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.
The Relationship between nutrition and disease
- Nutrition is vitally important to our overall wellbeing.
- Nutrition is important for prevention of certain diseases but also vital for the maintenance of other diseases.
- Each disease is different with regards nutrition and it is a very vast area.
Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A crude population measure of obesity is the BMI (Body Mass Index). A person with a BMI over 25 is considered overweight while a BMI over 30 is considered obese. These two issues are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
WHO
Some causes of obesity:
- Genetics – FTO and leptin deficiency
- Metabolic – metabolism and hormones
- Lifestyle
- Syndromes – Prader Willi
- Low socio economic background
Problems associated with obesity:
Physical problems
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart disease
- Joint problems – osteoarthritis
- Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
- Certain types of Cancer
Psychosocial Problems
- Obesity has significant monetary costs
- Often have few or no romantic relationships
- Low self esteem
- Low self confidence
- Find it difficult to mix with people
Strategies to combat obesity:
- Increase physical activity levels
- Improve nutrition
- Control Portion sizes
- Reduce sedentary activities like watching tv, video games etc.
- Keep track of your weight, BMI and body circumference
The facts about childhood obesity:
- Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years
- 1 in 4 children is overweight or obese
- 4/5 children in Ireland do not meet Government Physical Activity Guidelines
- 1/5 of the energy intake from a child’s diet comes from sugary drinks, biscuits, chocolate and confectionary
Heart Disease
Heart and blood vessel disease is an umbrella term for any type of disorder that affects the heart like coronary artery disease, heart rhythm problems and heart defects. The most common forms of heart disease involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to heart attack, chest pain or stroke.
Causes of Cardiovascular disease
- A build up of fatty plaques in your arteries – caused by a poor diet
- Smoking
- Lack of exercise
Risk Factors associated with Heart Disease
- Age
- Gender
- Family history
- Smoking
- Poor diet
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Other diseases - Diabetes, obesity
- Physical inactivity
- Stress
Heart Disease Prevention
- Increase physical activity levels
- Improve nutrition
- Avoid certain foods which may cause high cholesterol or high blood pressure
- Quit smoking
- Reduce stress
Cancer
Cancer is the name given to a collection of related diseases. In all types of cancer, some of the body’s cells begin to divide without stopping and spread into surrounding tissues. Cancer can almost start anywhere in the human body. Many forms of cancer form solid tumours. Malignant tumours mean they can spread or invade nearby tissues. Benign tumours do not spread.
As with other diseases nutrition is linked to the prevention of cancer and is also thought to relieve symptoms in cancer patients. It is advised to maintain a healthy diet during cancer treatment but this may be difficult depending on type of cancer.
What affects nutrient absorption during cancer treatment?
- Nutrient absorption may be inhibited depending on type of cancer
- If the patient is undergoing surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy or stem cell transplant, it may make it hard to eat well/at all
- Side effects of treatment include loss of appetite, nausea, vomitting, diarrohea, constipation, dry mouth
Diabetes mellitus is a condition caused by a lack or insufficiency of the hormone insulin. Insulin works by allowing blood sugar to be used as an energy source. If insulin is deficient, blood sugar will build up in the bloodstream. Therefore, diabetes is characterised by high blood sugar levels.
Early symptoms of diabetes:
- Hunger and fatigue
- Frequent urination and excessive thirst
- Dry mouth and itchy skin
- Blurred vision
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body makes insulin but their cells don’t use it as well as they should, this is called insulin resistance.
Symptoms and prevention:
Symptoms are the same as someone with type 1 diabetes.
Prevention/Treatment
- Lose weight
- Get active
- Eat right
- Quit smoking
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