Nutrition Status Assessment was the 1st paid webinar series organized by NSI Mumbai Chapter during the lockdown from 12th to 18th June 2020. Five different sessions were planned covering 5 different aspects of nutritional assessment in adults and children. YouTube links are not available for this series.
Topic: Appropriate Strategies for Dietary Assessment
Speaker: Dr. Shobha Rao, Director, Research & Training Society for Initiatives in Nutrition and Development, Pune
Dr. Rao covered various aspects from dietary data collection from the process of data collection to calculation of nutrient intake using the food composition tables. She explained in details the strength and weakness of different methods of dietary data collection such as 24 hour dietary recall and FFQ. She also shared tips on how to choose the most appropriate method for dietary data collection.
Topic: Clinical Assessment of Nutritional Status
Speaker: Dr. Yeolekar, Former Prof and Head of Dept. of Internal Medicine, LTMG& KJMS Hospital. Former Dean/ Director – Sion and KEM Hospital, Mumbai
Dr. Yeolekar began the session by highlighting the fact that it is essential to assess clinical signs and symptoms that might indicate potential specific nutrient deficiency. He explained various clinical methods of assessing nutritional status which involves checking signs of deficiency at specific places on the body or asking the patient whether they have any symptoms that might suggest nutrient deficiency from the patient. Some examples in relation to clinical signs of nutrient deficiency which he highlighted were pallor (on the palm of the hand or the conjunctiva of the eye), Bitot’s spots on the eyes, pitting oedema, goiter and severe visible wasting which indicates specific nutrient deficiency. He also shared the positives and negatives of using this tool for assessing nutritional status.
Topic: Biochemical Assessment of Nutritional Status
Speaker: Dr. Geeta Dharmati (Director and Founder at GeetaNutriHeal Consultancy)
Dr. Dharmati explained that biochemical assessment provides the most objective and quantitative data on nutritional status. She emphasized on the 2 types of biochemical assessment technique which is static and functional. She then elaborated on various biochemical or laboratory methods of assessment which includes measuring a nutrient or its metabolite in the blood, faeces, urine or other tissues that have a relationship with the nutrient. She highlighted tests for protein synthesis, albumin, globulin, prealbumin, immune-competence test, test to assess the iron status etc.
Topic: Anthropometric Assessment of Nutritional Status
Speakers: Dr. Anuradha Khadilkar (Deputy Director and Consultant Pediatrician, Hirabai Cowasji Jehangir Medical Research Institute, Jehangir Hospital, Pune) and Dr. Neha Sanwalka Rungta (Director NutriCanvas; Associated Professor, irabai Cowasji Jehangir Medical Research Institute, Jehangir Hospital, Pune; Consultant Statistician Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute)
Dr. Neha started the webinar and introduced the importance of anthropometric assessment followed by what are the different anthropometric measurements and how to measure them. Thereafter, Dr. Khadilkar’s team showcased 2 videos on measuring waist circumference and skin fold thickness. Dr. Khadilkar took over the session from here and explained different conditions in which anthropometric indices increases or decreases. Then she explained importance of growth charts, how to plot the growth charts and their interpretation. She also explained interpretation of various anthropometric indices in adults. Thereafter Dr. Neha explained how to use WHO Anthro/ Anthroplus and IAP Growth Monitoring App.
Topic: Functional Assessment of Nutrition Status
Speakers: Dr. Subhadra Mandalika (Convenor NSI Mumbai Chapter, Associate Professor of Nutrition, College of Home Science, Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai) and Dr. Anagha Palekar(Dietitian B.Y.L. Nair Hospital, Mumbai)
Dr. Subhadra began with explaining what functional assessment is all about. She explained the various categories of functional markers of nutritional status like molecular, biochemical and physiological markers and provided with examples supporting the same. She also highlighted various techniques for functional assessment such as handgrip strength, physical performance measures such as timed gait and chair stands etc.
Dr. Palekar highlighted importance of functional assessment tools in diseased conditions like diabetes, cardiac ailments, chronic kidney diseases, cancer, osteoarthritis. She shared the importance of activities of daily living tools such as the Katz Index, Lawton Scale, and Karnofsky Scale Index.