Metabolism:



Metabolism:

Regulated mostly by hormones, it is a combination of several processes by which energy is extracted from certain nutrients ( carbohydrate, protein and fat) and then used by the body.

Vitamins and minerals do not directly provide us with energy, but they are an important part of the metabolism process. Metabolism can be broken down into two parts:

1. Catabolism: is the breakdown of complex substances into simpler ones, resulting in release of simple energy.

2. Anabolism: is the synthesis of simple substances into more complex substances. This process provides the energy necessary for tissue growth, maintenance and repair.

Our bodies get the energy they need from food through metabolism, the chemical reactions in the body's cells that convert the fuel from food into the energy needed to do everything from moving to thinking to growing.

Specific proteins in the body control the chemical reactions of metabolism, and each chemical reaction is coordinated with other body functions.

In fact, thousands of metabolic reactions happen at the same time — all regulated by the body — to keep our cells healthy and working.

▪ Metabolism is a constant process that begins when we're conceived and ends when we die. It is a vital process for all life forms — not just humans. If metabolism stops, a living thing dies.

▪ Here's an example of how the process of metabolism works in humans — and it begins with plants. First, a green plant takes in energy from sunlight.

▪ The plant uses this energy and the molecule cholorophyll (which gives plants their green color) to build sugars from water and carbon dioxide in a process known as photosynthesis.

When people and animals eat the plants (or, if they're carnivores, when they eat animals that have eaten the plants), they take in this energy (in the form of sugar), along with other vital cell-building chemicals.

The body's next step is to break the sugar down so that the energy released can be distributed to, and used as fuel by, the body's cells.

energy is an attribute of all biological systems from the biosphere to the smallest living organism. Within an organism it is responsible for growth and development of a biological cell or an organelle of a biological organism.

Energy is thus often said to be stored by cells in the structures of molecules of substances such as carbohydrates (including sugars), lipids, and proteins, which release energy when reacted with oxygen in respiration.

▪ Everything we do is connected to energy in one form or another.

Energy is defined as:  "the ability to do work."

▪ When we eat, our bodies transform the energy stored in the food into energy to do work. When we run or walk, we "burn" food energy in our bodies. When we think or read or write, we are also doing work. Many times it's really hard work! Cars, planes, light bulbs, boats and machinery also transform energy into work.

Work means moving something, lifting something, warming something, lighting something. All these are a few of the various types of work. But where does energy come from?

▪ There are many sources of energy. In The Energy Story, we will look at the energy that makes our world work. Energy is an important part of our daily lives.

Body mass index:

▪ is defined as the individual's body weight divided by the square of his or her height. The formulae universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m2. BMI can also be determined using a BMI chart, which displays BMI as a function of weight (horizontal axis) and height (vertical axis) using contour lines for different values of BMI or colors for different BMI categories.

Body Mass Index=body weight in Kilograms

height in cm x height in cm

BMI provided a simple numeric measure of a person's "fatness" or "thinness", allowing health professionals to discuss over- and under-weight problems more objectively with their patients. However, BMI has become controversial because many people, including physicians, have come to rely on its apparent numerical authority for medical diagnosis

but that was never the BMI's purpose; it is meant to be used as a simple means of classifying sedentary (physically inactive) individuals, or rather, populations, with an average body composition.

For these individuals, the current value settings are as follows: a BMI of 20 to 25 may indicate optimal weight;

a BMI lower than 20 suggests the person is underweight while a number above 25 may indicate the person is overweight; a person may have a BMI below 20 due to disease; a number above 30 suggests the person is obese (over 40, morbidly obese).

Circumference measurement – technique:

There are many brands of measuring tapes such as the Myotape. The tape is wrapped around the body part and the end of the tape is placed into the slot. When you push the center button it applies a constant tension for repeatable measurements.

WAIST

1. Standing to the side of the patient, locate and mark the inferior margin (lowest point) of the last rib and the crest of the ilium (top of the hip bone) with a fine pen.

2. With a tape measure, find the midpoint and mark the point. This is a tape measure and mark the point.

3. Apple the tension tape over the marked midpoint and ask the participant to wrap it round themselves

1. NOTE: Check that the tape is horizontal across the back and front of the patient.

4. Ask the patient to:

1. Stand with their feet together,

2. Place their arms at their side with the palms of their hands facing inwards, and

3. Breathe out gently.

5. Measure waist circumference and read the measurement at the level of the tape to the nearest 0.1 cm.

6. Record the measurement

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