Nutrition Across Lifespans

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering maternal, pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric nutritional needs, developmental stages, and related clinical conditions.

Gestational Diabetes

A condition characterized by elevated blood glucose levels during pregnancy that typically manifests and is assessed during the $24\text{th}$ to $28\text{th}\text{ week}$ of gestation.

Pyrosis

Heartburn experienced during pregnancy, commonly in the third trimester, caused by the expanding uterus displacing the gastrointestinal tract and elevated progesterone relaxing smooth muscle.

Low Birth Weight (LBW)

A birth classification for a neonate weighing less than $2.5\text{ kg}$, commonly resulting from preterm labor or maternal undernutrition causing fetal growth restriction.

Fetal Macrosomia

Excessive fetal weight gain often caused by maternal overnutrition and insulin resistance, which can trigger preterm contractions, pelvic inlet disproportion at term ($37\text{ weeks}$), and maternal sciatic nerve injury.

Human Placental Lactogen (hPL)

A placental hormone that induces temporary maternal insulin resistance and stimulates lipolysis, preserving maternal glucose and fatty acids to nourish the developing fetus.

Teratogens

Agents or factors, including alcohol, that cross the placenta and cause structural malformations or impaired cognitive development in an embryo or fetus.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

A developmental disorder caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, leading to cognitive impairment and distinct craniofacial abnormalities including a small head, small eye openings, low nasal bridge, flat midface, smooth philtrum, and a thin upper lip.

Pica

An eating disorder characterized by persistent cravings and ingestion of non-food substances such as clay or dirt, which can result in maternal mineral loss.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum

A severe form of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy linked to elevated human chorionic gonadotropin ($\text{hCG}$) levels that causes significant weight loss and requires medical confinement.

Galactagogues

Foods, herbs, or medications (such as oatmeal, fenugreek, blessed thistle, and moringa) that stimulate lactation by blocking dopamine receptors to boost prolactin synthesis or by providing phytoestrogenic compounds.

Physiologic Anorexia

A normal, non-pathological decline in appetite observed in toddlers around the $18\text{th}\text{ month}$ of life due to a deceleration to a slow and steady growth rate.

Neophobia

The developmental fear of the new and unknown, leading toddlers to reject unfamiliar foods and show a strong preference for familiar presentations and sweet flavors.

Food Jag

A ritualistic feeding behavior common in toddlers where an individual child consumes only the same food prepared in the same manner for consecutive meals.

School Food Service

A school-based nutrition program providing balanced meals, requiring school lunches to furnish at least $\frac{1}{4}$ of the recommended intake of essential nutrients.

Low Energy Availability (LEA)

A condition occurring when caloric intake fails to cover the combined energy demands of metabolic maintenance and physical activity, resulting in endocrine dysregulation.

Severe Caloric Undereating

Chronic insufficient energy intake in adolescents that stunts physical growth, delays recovery, decreases bone density, and paradoxically increases body fat while reducing lean muscle mass.

Gerontology

The scientific study of old age, the biological process of aging, and the clinical, nutritional, and social health concerns of the elderly population.

Metabolic Syndrome

A cluster of concurrent risk factors—defined by central obesity plus two or more criteria among high triglycerides ($\beta \text{-risk} \rightarrow \text{elevated} \text{ lipid panel}$), low HDL, hypertension, or elevated fasting glucose—that increases the incidence of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

Mediterranean Diet

A cardioprotective dietary pattern emphasizing plant-based foods, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seafood, and olive oil, with minimal red meat and seasonings, recommended for metabolic syndrome management.