Unit 21 – Nutrition for Health and Social Care
Task 2 - P3 – Explain the possible influences on dietary intakes.
Health Factors
Diabetes Mellitus is a condition whereby the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is needed to con-
trol blood glucose levels. If the body cannot con-
trol blood sugar levels, then over time it can se-
verely damage the organs.
Celiac disease is a condition whereby the small in-
testine can’t absorb nutrients from the food eaten,
the small intestine is inflamed and can make the
sick person have many symptoms. Some of the
symptoms include bloating, diarrhoea and abnor-
mal pain. On the left is in image diagram showing
the difference between normal villi, and villi being
affected by the disease.
Irritable bowel syndrome, which is also known as spastic bowel is a group of symptoms that affect
the bowel movements. Constipation, abdominal pain and diarrhoea are the main symptoms of irrita-
ble bowel syndrome. Most people get this before they are 45 years old.
Lactose intolerance is a condition whereby the body isn’t able to digest lactose. Lactose is mostly
found in dairy products and in milk. If a person ignores this, it can lead to having cramps in the ab-
domen, vomiting may happen shortly after eating something they should be avoiding.
A food allergy is when a person’s body abnormally acts differently because of the immune system.
Children normally have allergies to eggs, peanuts, wheat and milk. Adults normally have allergies to
foods such as fish, peanuts and walnuts. If someone is allergic to food, their body reacts narratively
to a certain type of food, the body things it’s a dangerous piece of bacteria when it’s actually not.
Loss of ability to feed independently is when an individual is unable to eat food themselves because
on an illness or disease. Some of these diseases may include cancer, having brain damage, being
paralysed, or having suffered a stroke. This can affect individuals as it means they may not be able to
understand how to eat, how to chew and swallow food. People can also be not able to pick up cut-
lery such as spoons and forks. Being unable to eat food themselves mean they can’t cut food or feed
themselves. So, a care professional will have to help them with that.
Dietary habits are decisions groups or individuals decide to make when they choose to eat food.
Healthy dietary habits include people consuming foods high in nutrients, like carbohydrates, miner-
als, and fibre etc. Dietary habits will affect how someone’s health plays out. If an individual only con-
sumes nutrients like fats, e.g. Butter, red meat, oil and fried foods, it can affect their body in terms of
development and growth. We need to make sure we eat a normal portion of food so we intake all
types of nutrients into the body, not just one.