Nutrition:
Growth and Life Span
Copyright 2010:PEER.tamu.edu
Things to Consider:
1. How do you feel about
your weight? …. Height?
2. Have you and your
siblings or friends
grown in a uniform way
over the years?
3. Do you think you will
always have the same
weight or height relative to
other students?
Factors That Influence Your
Growth Include:
Genetics
Gender
Nutrition
Physical Activity
Health Problems
Environment
Hormones
Which of these do you
think are affecting you
right now? Why?
Measures Used for Growth Differ
In babies: length, weight, head circumference
In older children and teens: height, weight, body
mass index
You can calculate how you compare with other people of
your age.
Use the automatic calculator at:
http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/usefultools/l/bl_kids_centils.htm
Or use activity included in lesson
Body Mass Index (BMI)For Adults:
• BMI is based on the
ratio of your weight
to your height
What BMI tells you
BMI Categories for adults:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or
greater
Body Mass
Index
Comparisons
for Children
Proper Nutrition is Crucial During
Pregnancy and Early Childhood
If a woman is malnourished
during pregnancy, or if her child
is malnourished during the first
two years of life, the child's
physical and mental growth and
development will be impaired.
This cannot be made up when
the child is older – it will
permanently affect the child.
Good Growth Requires
a Balanced Diet
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Proteins: source of materials for growth and repair.
Carbohydrates: source of energy.
Fats: source of energy and contain fat soluble vitamins.
Vitamins: needed for many enzyme systems.
Minerals: needed for healthy teeth, bones, muscles etc.
Fiber: help your intestines function correctly; it is not
digested.
Protein – An Essential Nutrient for Growth
• A little protein chemistry:
– Proteins are organic substances made of Carbon, Hydrogen,
Oxygen and Nitrogen.
– Some proteins may also contain Sulfur or Iron.
– Proteins are large molecules made up of combinations of amino
acids.
This is the general structure of an amino acid.
The R stands for an organic subgroup.
Proteins are chains of amino acids combined.
They can get very large.
Here is the chemical formula for Enaptin, a very
large protein:
Enaptin: C44189H71252N12428O14007S321
See slide note on Enaptin’s function in the body
Protein – Most Essential for All
Growth
Protein content in
grams per 1 cup:
Beef Sirloin 68.8
Chicken Breast 43.3
Salmon 40
Cheddar Cheese 32.9
Eggs 24.4
Soybeans 22
Almonds 20.2
Beans, Pinto 15
Peas, black-eyed 13
Beans, red kidney 13
Beans, baked 13
Peas 8
Spinach 6
Corn 5
Rice 5
Veggie burger 5
Peanut butter 4
Noodles 3.7
Potatoes 3.5
Beans, green 1.6
Cauliflower 2
Cabbage 1.5
Carrots 1
Cucumber 0.7
Lettuce 0.7
Mushrooms 0.3
All meats are high in
protein!
Carbohydrates: Where we get
Energy
• Some carbohydrate chemistry:
– Carbohydrates are organic
substances made of Carbon,
Hydrogen and Oxygen in a ratio of 1
carbon atom, 2 hydrogen atoms, and
1 oxygen atom (CH2O).
– Carbohydrates are also called
“sugars” and “starches.”
– Carbohydrates are used in our
bodies for energy.
– Foods high in carbohydrates include
fruits, breads, pastas, beans,
potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals.
Fats: the “Bad”…….
• Fats are organic molecules made
of Carbon, Hydrogen, and
Oxygen.
• Saturated fats are considered
unhealthy for the body and have
been linked to cardiovascular
disease and several types of
cancers.
• Examples of foods containing a
high proportion of saturated fat
include dairy products, animal
fats and oils like coconut oil,
cottonseed oil and palm kernel
oil.
A double cheeseburger can have 35g
of saturated fat! That is almost twice
the maximum daily amount
suggested!
…And the “Good”
• Unsaturated fats are fats in which
there is at least one double bond
between the Carbon atoms. These
fats, if used in place of others, can
lower your risk of heart disease by
reducing the total cholesterol and lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol
levels in your blood.
• Sources of these fats include vegetable
oils, fish, nuts, seeds, olive oil and
avocados.
Compare the two types of
fats. What is the difference?
Learn more about fats here.
Bones Need Key Components to
Support Growth
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Calcium
Vitamin D
Vitamin C
Exercise
Hormone release from
parathyroid gland
Did you know that sunlight induces skin cells to
make vitamin D?
* See slide notes for information about HOW these components support bone growth.
Think Break:
• What are some of the things that affect
growth rate?
• Why is proper nutrition critical, even at a very
early age?
• What are some good dietary sources of
protein, carbohydrates, and “good” fats?
• Do you think your diet is balanced and
healthy?
Our Culture Affects our Diet
Examples:
In Thailand, only 3% of the people
have the ability to process
(metabolize) milk sugar (lactose).
Historically, these people have not
been major consumers of dairy
products.
Why do you think this is?
In Northern India, where dairy foods
have been extensively used in their
culture for many centuries, about
70% of the people can metabolize
lactose.
Why do you think this is?
Why do certain cultures seem to have certain food preferences?
Japanese people eat large amounts of seafood.
Americans and Central Americans eat large amounts of corn.
Argentineans eat large quantities of beef.
Large amounts of rice are consumed in Southern Asia.
Why?
How Bones Grow: Longer Limbs
and Taller Height
• Special tissue at ends of bones
add calcium to underlying matrix
of existing bone.
• The bone-forming tissue seals off
somewhere around the late
teens, and growth stops.
• Why do you think the growth
stops?
• Researchers are currently trying
to answer that question.
Pituitary Growth Hormone is Crucial for Cell and
Tissue Growth
• Pituitary Growth Hormone is a protein
made in pituitary
• Release controlled by neurons in
the hypothalamus
• Stimulates liver and some other
cells to make a growth factor
• Promotes protein build-up,
reduces fat, and helps regulate
blood glucose
•Some athletes illegally use Human
Growth Hormone to stimulate more
growth. This is a dangerous practice.
Links to Human Growth Hormone Information:
Abuse
Information
Growth Hormone Use in Cattle
• Growth hormone is regularly used by beef cattle
producers.
• A small implant is inserted into the ear of the animal
and it slowly releases growth hormone over a period of
around 120 days.
• Why do you think beef producers do this?*
*See slide
notes for
more
information.
Light Stimulates Cultured Bone
•Scientists have found that certain types of light promote cell growth.
• Skin, bone and muscle cells grown in cultures were exposed to the same lightemitting diodes used to treat wounds in patients and grow plants in space.
• Biologists found that cells exposed to the near-infrared light grew 150 to 200
percent faster than control cells not stimulated by the light.
•Scientists are trying to learn more about the way cells convert light to energy and
identify the wavelengths of light that are most effective at stimulating growth.
Growth at the Cell Level
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Humans have about 100,000 billion cells (about 1
billion/gram of tissue) – all came from a single
fertilized egg cell.
In most tissues (except brain) huge numbers of cells
die routinely and have to be replaced.
Certain genes trigger the cycle of cell division.
Certain types of cells, like skin cells and blood cells,
divide frequently. Other cells, like kidney and heart
cells, do not.
Why do you think that is?
The Cell Cycle and Growth Factors
Influence Growth
• Normal cells in most tissues divide,
either to grow or replace dead cells.
• Specific proteins trigger growth of
specific tissue.
• Examples:
– Bone, blood, connective tissue, liver, skin
– This is crucial for wound healing!!
Cancer is Growth That is Uncontrolled!
Characterized by cells that:
• Divide faster than they die.
Programmed cell death is called
apoptosis. It is a normal part of the
cell cycle. Old or damaged cells die
and are replaced by new ones.
• Invade normal tissue and impair the
function of the organ of origin.
• Spread through blood, lymph, and
body cavities to other organs.
For more on apoptosis click here
Research with Cells and Tissue is Constantly
Developing and Expanding:
Click on a Hyperlink Below to Learn More:
•Effects of space travel on cellular growth
• Use of stem cells for tissue regeneration
• Human tissue bank sources for transplants aid burn
victims, the visually impaired, the infertile, and persons living with cancer, heart defects,
and various other illnesses and injuries.
•Tissue culture of a layer of pig intestine for growing human
cells to help regenerate human tissue
Bone Marrow Stem Cells
Cell Cultures in Space
Pig Embryonic Stem Cell
Stem Cells and the Future
• Stem cells are found in all
multicellular organisms.
• They have the ability
divide and differentiate
into many different cell
types. That means they
can make different types
of body tissues.
• Stem cells can be
embryonic stem cells or
adult stem cells.
Adult Stem Cells from Bone Marrow
Potential Uses of Stem Cells
The stem cells could be grown in a culture and used to re-grow or repair
tissues that are diseased or damaged.
Final thoughtsWhat do you think?
•Do you think your culture affects your
food choices and overall health? How?
•How do you think the body “knows”
when a cell needs to die? Discuss
various options. How could knowing this
be helpful in understanding cancer?
•The use of stem cells is a controversial
topic.
• Why do you think this is?
•Injection of stem cells into a patient may
not work.
• Why do you think that is? (see slide
notes for answer!)