Nutrition

Empty-calorie foods provide considerable energy, usually from added sugar or solid fat, but supply very few essential nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals, or fibre. Examples include many sugary drinks, sweets, and some highly processed snacks. Frequent intake may displace nutritious foods and contribute to excess weight. Therefore, option A is correct.

Protein is especially important for growth because it supplies amino acids used to make new cells, muscles, enzymes, hormones, and other body tissues. It also supports tissue repair after normal wear or injury. Carbohydrates mainly provide energy, fats provide concentrated energy and support certain functions, and vitamins regulate processes but do not primarily build tissue. Thus, protein is the best answer.

Vitamin A is needed for normal vision, including adaptation to dim light, and for normal immune function. It also helps maintain healthy skin and mucous membranes, which act as protective barriers. Vitamin K is more directly associated with blood clotting, B-group vitamins assist energy metabolism, and vitamin D supports calcium absorption. Therefore, normal vision and immune function is the best answer for vitamin A.

Vitamin D helps the intestine absorb calcium and supports the regulation of calcium and phosphate balance in the body. This is important for forming and maintaining strong bones and teeth, and it also supports normal muscle and nerve function. Without adequate vitamin D, calcium absorption may fall and bone health can suffer. Iron, sugar, and sodium are not the nutrient specifically identified in this question.

Protein is known as a body-building nutrient because it supplies amino acids for making and maintaining muscles, skin, enzymes, hormones and other tissues. It also supports repair after normal wear, injury or illness. Water is essential for many processes, and sugar supplies energy, but neither performs the principal body-building role associated with protein.

Vitamins are organic protective nutrients required by the body in small amounts. They do not usually provide energy like carbohydrates or fats, but they regulate metabolism, support immunity, help vision, maintain skin and nerves, and assist growth and development. Therefore, the correct answer is B: vitamins perform protective and regulatory functions. Different vitamins have different roles, so a varied diet containing fruits, vegetables, milk, pulses and other foods is important.

Minerals are inorganic nutrients needed in small but essential amounts. Calcium and phosphorus help build strong bones and teeth, iron is needed for haemoglobin and oxygen transport, and sodium and potassium help maintain fluid balance and nerve and muscle activity. Thus, option C is correct because minerals support bones, blood formation and many other vital body functions.

Amla is an excellent source of vitamin C, so option D is correct. Vitamin C supports collagen formation, wound healing, healthy gums, and immune function. Ghee mainly supplies fat, rice mainly supplies carbohydrate, and salt supplies sodium chloride; these foods are not rich sources of vitamin C. Guava, citrus fruits, and many fresh vegetables are also useful sources.

Vitamin A is essential for normal vision, particularly adaptation to dim light, and it also supports the health of the eye surface and epithelial tissues. Therefore, option A, vision, is correct. Vitamin K is strongly associated with blood clotting, calcium and vitamin D support bones, and folate with vitamin B12 contributes to red blood cell formation. Severe vitamin A deficiency may cause night blindness.

Vitamin D helps the intestine absorb calcium and helps the body use calcium effectively. Calcium is needed to build and maintain strong bones and teeth, so option B is correct. Vitamin D and calcium work together, although bone health also depends on adequate phosphorus, protein, physical activity, and other factors. Iron, sugar, and salt do not have the same primary role in mineralisation of bones.

Iron is required for the synthesis of haemoglobin, the iron-containing protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to body tissues. Therefore, option C is correct. Calcium is especially important for bones and teeth, iodine is needed for thyroid hormone production, and vitamin K has an important role in blood clotting. Inadequate iron intake can lead to iron-deficiency anaemia, fatigue, and reduced work capacity.

Iodine is needed to make thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism, growth, and development. When iodine intake is inadequate, the thyroid gland may enlarge in an attempt to capture more iodine, producing a swelling called goitre. Thus, option D is correct. Scurvy results from vitamin C deficiency, while rickets is commonly associated with vitamin D deficiency and impaired bone mineralisation.

Calcium is a major mineral required for the formation, strength, and maintenance of bones and teeth, so option A is correct. It also contributes to muscle contraction, nerve transmission, and normal blood clotting, but its best-known school-level role is skeletal health. The other options describe unrelated household or textile activities and are not nutritional functions of calcium.

Undernutrition means that the body receives less energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, or other essential nutrients than it needs for normal growth, maintenance, and activity. Therefore, option B is correct. It may result from inadequate intake, poor absorption, or increased requirements. Excess intake is associated with overnutrition, while a balanced diet supplies nutrients in suitable amounts.

Malnutrition is a broad condition caused by an inadequate, excessive, or imbalanced intake or use of nutrients. It therefore includes undernutrition, deficiencies of vitamins and minerals, and forms of overnutrition such as overweight and obesity. Option D is correct. A balanced diet, good health, and clean water may support health, but none of them alone defines malnutrition.

A high intake of sodium, the main mineral in common salt, can cause the body to retain more fluid in some people. This may increase pressure on blood vessels and contribute to high blood pressure, especially when salt intake is consistently excessive. Reducing salty packaged foods and using less added salt can support cardiovascular health. Therefore, option A is correct.

Dehydration occurs when the body loses more fluid than it replaces. Drinking too little water can produce a fluid deficit, and dehydration may also result from vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, heavy sweating or excessive urination. Signs can include thirst, dry mouth, dark urine, tiredness and dizziness. In this question, insufficient water intake is the correct cause, so option B is correct.

A soft diet contains foods that are tender, mashed, minced or otherwise easy to chew and swallow. It may help a person with dental problems, mouth or jaw surgery, painful chewing, weakness or certain swallowing-related difficulties, when recommended by a health professional. The diet must still provide adequate energy and nutrients. Thus, the patient with chewing difficulty in option A is the correct answer.

When appetite is poor, a large meal may feel difficult or unpleasant. Offering small portions at regular intervals can make eating easier, improve tolerance and help the person obtain energy and nutrients across the day. The plan should consider the underlying illness and any medical advice. Contaminated food must never be served, regardless of meal frequency. Therefore, option B is correct.

Nutritional assessment systematically examines a person’s dietary intake, body measurements, clinical signs, medical history and relevant laboratory information. It helps identify nutrient deficiencies, excesses, malnutrition risk and special dietary needs. This information supports an individualized and safe nutrition-care plan, followed by monitoring and review. Therefore, understanding nutritional status and needs, option C, is the correct purpose.