pediatric nutrition, the maintenance of a proper well-balanced diet consisting of the essential nutrients and the adequate caloric intake necessary to promote growth and sustain the physiological requirements at the various stages of a child’s development. Nutritional needs vary considerably with age, level of activity, and environmental conditions, and they are directly related to the rate of growth. In the prenatal period growth totally depends on adequate maternal nutrition. During infancy the need for calories, especially in the form of protein, is greater than at any postnatal period because of the rapid increase in both height and weight. From toddlerhood through the preschool and middle childhood years, growth is uneven and occurs in spurts, with a resulting fluctuation in appetite and calorie consumption. In general, the average child expends 55% of energy on metabolic maintenance, 25% on activity, 12% on growth, and 8% on excretion. The accelerated growth phase during adolescence has greater nutritional requirements, although food habits are often influenced by emotional factors, peer pressure, and fad diets. Inadequate nutrition, especially during critical periods of growth, results in delayed development or illness, such as anemia from deficiency of iron or scurvy from deficiency of vitamin C. The role of the nurse is to educate and give nutritional guidance for good eating habits. A special problem is overfeeding in the early childhood years, which may lead to obesity or hypervitaminosis. See also recommended dietary allowances, specific vitamins.
