Child Development

Explain influence (P3)

Assess impact on nutritional health (M2)

Diabetes has an impact on the dietary intake of an individual because they will need to closely monitor and reduce their intake of carbohydrates, particularly simple sugars.  There are two forms of diabetes, Type 1  - a disease where the body is unable to produce insulin to regulate blood sugar and needs to be treated with insulin injections, and Type 2, which can be managed through diet.

Someone suffering from Type 2 diabetes will need to significantly reduce the amount of simple carbohydrates they eat on a daily basis, for example (white pasta, rice, bread, cakes) and all sugar and sugar substitutes avoided.   Complex carbohydrates such as those found in whole grains, protein and vegetables should be the main food groups eaten throughout the day.

People suffering from Type 1 diabetes take insulin injections to manage the condition, however the smaller the amount of insulin injected the better, so again a daily diet low in carbohydrates would be best

Reducing simple carbohydrates will not have a negative impact on someone’s nutritional health if the person is an adult.  This is because adults can get sufficient calories from other food groups such as fats and protein.  They should however be careful not to replace carbohydrates with fats as a source of energy as a high fat diet would have a negative impact on health, leading to weight gain and diseases associated with being overweight.

For children, who have a higher energy requirement, diabetes could have negative impact as they will lack energy on a low carbohydrate diet.  In this case the child’s diet would need to contain complex carbohydrates to ensure their diet meets their energy requirements.

Snacking

Snacking usually has an impact on someone’s dietary intake as the snacks people mostly eat are high in carbohydrates and fat (chocolate bars and crisps).  

Snacking increases the calorie intake and the amount of fat, sugar and salt in the diet as most people do not eat less for their main meals if they snack during the day.

Snacking is very likely to have a negative impact on someone’s nutritional health due to the increase in simple carbohydrates, salt and fat. The increase in calories will lead to weight gain and in the long term the diseases such as heart disease that are associated with obesity.

Snacking doesn’t always have to have a negative impact however, as snacks can be healthy, such as fruit and small amounts of nuts and seeds.  As people generally don’t eat such foods for their main meal, snacking on these foods would have a positive impact as they add important vitamins and minerals and fibre to the diet.