Question

Kathleen is a 1.68 m, 59 kg, 20-year-old university student. Over the last few years she has gained, then lost, five to seven kilograms several times. Recently, she has been trying hard to keep her weight down. Like many university students, Kathleen goes out every weekend and tends to overindulge. During the week she lives the life of a serious student, eating very little and getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night. By Friday, she is ready to have some fun. She usually goes out with friends to a nearby Chinese or Thai restaurant and then out to a bar or club. At the bar Kathleen will have four or five drinks and munch on hot chips or salted nuts. By 3 a.m., when she and her friends are ready to call it a night, they are usually hungry again. This means finding pizza, burgers or any other food they can find at that hour of the morning. After a late night out, Saturdays are spent catching up on some sorely needed sleep. By Saturday night, Kathleen is ready to go out and do it all over again. Sundays are usually spent relaxing at a hearty Sunday brunch, watching movies with her friends accompanied by a giant bowl of popcorn, and finishing homework that is due on Monday morning.

Kathleen realises that her weekend binges may cause her to gain weight, so she cuts down on kilojoules from Monday to Thursday. Kathleen has been trying to stay active and build up some muscle mass by running. Recently, her strict dieting is making this more difficult. During the week Kathleen eats so little that she often feels weak or lightheaded, especially following her long-distance runs. Although she is running a great deal, her muscles are not getting as large as she had hoped they would. She finds her diet is very hard to stick to on Mondays and Tuesdays. Kathleen is always starving. However, by the end of the week she no longer feels so hungry. Kathleen also notices that she has a much harder time paying attention, is sensitive to the cold temperatures and finds it all too easy to catch a cold or flu.

1. During periods of feasting, how are metabolic fuels used differently compared to their use with a healthy, consistent diet?

2. What are the long-term consequences of Kathleen's eating pattern and alcohol consumption on her vitamin status?

Answer 1

Answer 1:

When we take healthy diet in consistent manner then body uses it properly but when we keep on feasting that too unhealthy diets against the body's demand then it results in gain of weight in the individual. In such scenario the body's metabolism changes which leads in fat formation and deposits of fats. This can lead to obesity, formation of atherosclerosis which can further lead to high blood pressure, cardiac disorders, diabetes mellitus, etc.

Answer 2:

Kathleen consumes lot of alcohol, Alcohol consumption in large quantities prevents the proper absorption of nutrients such as vitamins which contributes to several forms of liver diseases and sometimes to liver failure. In liver, alcohol in presence of alcohol dehydrogenase and microsomal ethanol oxidising system is broken down into toxic acetaldehyde and reactive oxygen which interferes with metabolism of lipds and leads to damage of liver. Hence alcohol consumption causes vitamin deficiency. The eating habits of Kathleen can lead to various organ damage including liver and can cause disturbed metabolism, reduced respiration, slow heart rate, etc.