12.1

Introduction to nutritional assessment

Nutritional assessment gathers data on diet, medical history, and physical measures to gauge health.

Four key components:

Dietary Assessment: Analyzes eating habits to understand nutrients consumed and find deficiencies or excesses.

Methods include food diaries and recalls.

Anthropometric Assessment: Measures height, weight, and body to gain insights into growth patterns, composition, and malnutrition risks.

Biochemical Assessment: Blood tests check nutrient levels like vitamins and minerals.

Detects imbalances, aiding diagnosis.

Clinical Assessment: Evaluates signs like skin, hair, nails for nutritional problems.

Considers medical history and symptoms.

Nutritionists combine these to identify imbalances, deficiencies, and health issues.

This guides personalized dietary plans for better health.