Nutrition
Nutrition questions test nutrient functions, energy values, deficiency diseases and the ICDS Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) norms that an anganwadi worker applies daily.
Nutrients and energy
Carbohydrates and proteins give 4 kcal per gram, fat gives 9 kcal per gram. Proteins are body-building, carbohydrates energy-giving, fats energy-storing and protective. Micronutrients - iron, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, zinc - are needed in small amounts but are critical.
ICDS SNP norms
- Children 6–72 months: about 500 kcal and 12–15 g protein per day.
- Severely malnourished children: about 800 kcal and 20–25 g protein per day.
- Pregnant and lactating women: about 600 kcal and 18–20 g protein per day. Food is given as hot cooked meals at the anganwadi or as Take Home Ration.
Deficiency diseases
Iron – anaemia; iodine – goitre and cretinism; vitamin A – night blindness and xerophthalmia; vitamin D – rickets; vitamin C – scurvy; thiamine (B1) – beriberi; niacin – pellagra.
Infant feeding
Colostrum is the first thick yellowish milk and must never be discarded; exclusive breastfeeding for six months, then complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding up to two years.
Worked example
A three-year-old enrolled at an anganwadi is diagnosed as severely malnourished. Which SNP entitlement applies? Reasoning: the 500 kcal/12–15 g norm is for normal children; severe acute malnutrition moves the child to the higher 800 kcal/20–25 g category, and the child also needs medical referral rather than food alone.
Traps that cost marks
Exchanging rickets with scurvy, mixing the child and mother calorie norms, and calling Take Home Ration a substitute for breastfeeding.