Question

Assignment 5: Case Study - Protein Adequacy

Erin is a 28-year-old professional woman who is 5 feet 8 inches tall and vigilantly maintains her weight at 118 pounds by following a lacto-ovo (non-fat milk and egg whites only) vegetarian diet that supplies approximately 1200 calories a day. With her understanding that protein should provide between 10 and 35 percent of her daily calories, she reasons that her daily intake of 40 grams of protein from milk, eggs, legumes, and nuts is adequate for her needs. She is concerned, however, that she has been sick more than usual and has experienced two stress fractures in her leg over the past three years while exercising.

1.   What is the protein RDA per kilogram of healthy body weight for Erin? (1 points)

2.         Assuming a healthy weight for Erin is 141 pounds, what is her recommended daily protein requirement? Be sure to show all your work. (3 points)

Reminder: 1 lb = 2.2 kg

3.   Remembering that protein provides 4 kcalories per gram, what percentage of Erin’s current total energy intake comes from protein? Be sure to show all of your work. (3 points)

4.   What percentage of total energy intake should come from protein? (2 points)

5.   What can be said about Erin’s protein intake? (2 points)

a.   Given that she is a lacto-ovo vegetarian, it is virtually impossible for her to get adequate, balanced protein.

b.   She is actually getting more protein than recommended, and this may cause her to excrete calcium, increasing her risk of bone fracture.

c.   Erin’s reliance on legumes and other non-meat sources of protein may increase her risk of certain cancers, such as colon cancer.

d.   Although it falls within the recommended range in terms of the percentage of total energy intake, it is less than recommended in terms of the absolute amount.

e.   Given her lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, she is probably consuming too much methionine and tryptophan.

6.   On average, an ounce of a protein food delivers how many grams of protein? (2 points)

a.   1

b.   3

c.   5

d.   7

e.   9

7.   Erin loves whole grains. Suppose she makes herself a snack from one serving of grains and one cup yogurt topped with a serving of fresh strawberries. How much protein is in her snack? (2 points)

a.   4 to 5 grams

b.   6 to 7 grams

c.   8 to 9 grams

d.   10 to 11 grams

e.   12 to 13 grams

Answer 1

1.The recommended dietary allowance is 0.8 g for 1kg

Here the weight of the patient is 118lbs (118*0.454=53.5kg)

So to calculate the daily protein is 53.5*0.8=42.8g

Therefore there should be 42.8 g or 43 g of protein intake

2.Convert weight from pounds to kg

Given 1lbs=2.2kg

So divide pounds by kg

=141/2.2

=64kg

So to calculate the RDA multiply weight by 0.8g

=64*0.8

=51.2g of protein

3.Given

Erin protein intake =40g

To convert it into local multiply by 4kcal

So 40*4=160

So 160kcal is received from protein

4.To calculate the percentage from total calorie intake divide protein intake in kcal by total kcal per day and multiply by 100

So protein (local) =160kcal

To calorie intake in day=1200kcal

=160/1200*100

=0.133*100

=13.3

So the protein intake in percentage is 13.3%

4.As per the CDC guidelines it is recommended that an individual should get about 10 to 35% of protein from the diet they consume .