Nutritional Care Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nutritional Care Plan - Essay Example Harvey (2011) explains that â€Å"overnutrition is an unfavorable health condition in which at least one nutrient is supplied in an amount that exceeds the bodys requirements for normal metabolism, growth and development.† The Test Lab Online (2011) adds that overnutrition is a serious medical problem in pregnancy because â€Å"chronic overnutrition can lead to obesity and to metabolic syndrome, a set of risk factors characterized by abdominal obesity, a decreased ability to process glucose (insulin resistance), dyslipidemia, and hypertension.† This essay shall focus on abdominal obesity in pregnancy. According to the American Pregnancy Association (2011), woman who had BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 before pregnancy is required to gain weight of 1 – 4.5 pounds during the first trimester. However, after just two weeks, the woman came back to the hospital with a weight gain of 7.7 pounds. This was still at the early stages of the pregnancy and therefore constituted an excessive weight of 3.2 pounds. Further biochemical test showed that the albumin level of the woman was 5.8 g/dl, which was almost above normal. The interpretation is that the woman was suffering from overnutrition. Clinical assessment however revealed that the integrity of the woman’s skin was intact. When dietary assessment of the patient’s daily intake of food was done, it was realized that the woman had been misinformed to start taking in more protein and fat and extra mineral with the intention of helping her fetus grow better. Medications were suggested for the patient based on her cultural and socioeconomic background. It must be reiterated that medications or drugs come into the treatment of over nutrition as a last resort and especially when the patient’s case has resulted in obesity. Some commonly acceptable medications in medical circles include Orlistat, Sibutramine, Rimonabant, Metformin, Exenatide, Pramlintide