Child Nutrition Case Study

Read the case study and answer the questions.

Joy is an African American female, 8.5 years of age, who has just completed the 3rd grade in a suburban elementary school and will be entering the 4th grade in the fall. Joy rides the bus to her grandmother's house, where she stays for 3-4 hours after school. Her mom is a single parent and is a hairstylist at a local salon. She routinely works into the early evening before picking Joy up around 7-7:30 p.m. On Saturdays, when her mother has to work, Joy stays with her grandmother. Her grandmother lives in an area with no sidewalks and it is not safe for her to play outside due to the high amount of traffic on the street. There is a local park a half mile away from her grandmother's house. Joy's favorite activities are watching television, dancing, and playing with friends.

Joy's mother has battled a weight problem since childhood, and she is worried her daughter will face the same battle. However, she is afraid to say anything to Joy about her weight because she doesn't want to cause body image issues.

Joy's weight: 102 lb.
Joy's height: 54"

A recent 24 hour dietary recall which she and her mother provided reveals the following:

Breakfast: 16 fl. oz. regularly sweetened orange flavored drink (Tang)
2 regular pop tarts (one strawberry and one chocolate)

Lunch: 2 cups of spaghetti with meat sauce
(at school) 1/2 cup of corn
1 slice of garlic bread
8 oz. of low-fat chocolate milk
1 chocolate chip cookie

Note: Joy sits down at recess most days and pretends to be a hairstylist like her mother with her friends.

After school snack: 2 Capri Sun drinks
(at grandmother's) 2 oz. of Doritos
½ cup of chocolate pudding

Note: Joy's favorite activity after she finishes her homework is to watch videos or cartoons.

Supper: McDonald's 10 piece chicken nugget
(at home) 2 sweet ‘n sour sauce packets
1 medium French fry
16 fl. oz. of orange Hi-C fruit drink

Evening Snack: 1 cup of chocolate ice cream

Questions/Activities: - Use the Girls BMI-for-age growth chart athttp://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set2clinical/cj41c074.pdf

1. Plot Joy's BMI for age. Scan and attach growth chart when you turn in this assignment.

2. What is her percentile for BMI for age?

i. BMI:

3. Using Supertracker, determine Joy's nutrient analysis. Include the total calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat that Joy is consuming based on her 24-hour dietary recall.

4. What micro and macro nutrients do you think Joy is consuming too much of based on her 24-hour recall? List at least 5.

5. What micro and macro nutrients do you think Joy is consuming too little of based on her 24-hour recall? List at least 5.

6. List 3 specific, incremental goals that you could set with Joy and her mother that would encourage a better dietary intake and a healthier weight that would fit their life style.