The Big Picture
Your body’s food and energy needs change throughout life. A baby growing quickly has different needs from an adult or an older person.
Some life stages require extra nutrients because of growth or pregnancy. Aging can also bring physical, social, and emotional changes that affect eating and nutrition.
Look for Nova Scotia CCA Notes throughout this page for current provincial guidance.
Quick tip: Tap, click, or press Enter on any term with a dotted underline and an ⓘ icon to see its plain-English definition.
Start Here If You’re Overwhelmed
Focus on these core ideas:
- Babies grow quickly and need nutrition that supports rapid growth and development.
- Puberty brings another major growth spurt, so adolescents need increased nutrients.
- Most adults need less energy than adolescents unless they are extremely active.
- Pregnancy increases nutritional needs.
- Older adults usually need fewer calories, but their nutritional requirements remain high.
- When caring for infants and children, support workers must follow the care plan for dietary requirements.
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Course Notes: Key Ideas You Need to Know
What Nutrition Means
Nutrition refers to the processes involved when the body takes in, digests, absorbs, and uses food and fluids.
Nutrients are substances that the body takes in, digests, absorbs, and uses.
Absorption happens when substances pass through the intestinal wall into the blood.
A calorie measures the energy produced when the body burns food.
Infancy
Infancy involves rapid growth and development.
Babies may receive breast milk or formula. Breast milk provides the best source of nutrients and antibodies during the first 6 months. Formula provides adequate nourishment, but it does not contain antibodies.
A pediatrician or public health nurse usually guides parents about infant feeding times.
How food changes during infancy
- At 4 to 6 months, iron-fortified cereals are introduced.
- Puréed foods follow.
- Most babies are ready for finger foods and chopped foods between 10 months and 1 year.
- Growth slows after the first year.
Childhood
Children often develop strong food likes and dislikes. These preferences can make meal planning harder.
Childhood obesity has risen dangerously in North America. The source connects this rise partly with inactivity, nutrient-poor processed foods, foods high in saturated fats and sugars, and choosing these foods instead of fruits and vegetables.
Children need teaching about proper food choices. Canada’s Dietary Guidelines emphasize teaching children how to prepare healthy foods to support healthy eating choices throughout life.
Regular meals and physical activity are important for children’s growth and well-being.
Number to remember: Children under 4 years of age should not be given a low-fat diet. They need fat for brain development and energy.
Nova Scotia CCA Note
Sorrentino’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker, 5th Edition says iron-fortified cereal is introduced at 4 to 6 months and says children under 4 should not receive a low-fat diet. Current Health Canada guidance, which applies in Nova Scotia, recommends starting complementary foods at about 6 months, with iron-rich foods among the first foods offered. (canada.ca)
Current guidance also says dietary fat restriction is not recommended for children younger than 2 years. After age 2, lower-fat milk becomes an option. This is more specific than Sorrentino’s broader under-4 rule. (canada.ca)
Why this matters in Nova Scotia: Keep Sorrentino’s ages in mind for your course material, but do not treat age 4 as the current Canada-wide cutoff for lower-fat choices.
Official source: Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants: Recommendations from Six to 24 Months
Last checked: September 18, 2026
CCA Care for Infants and Children
When a support worker cares for infants or children, the supervisor provides instructions about their dietary requirements.
CCA action: Follow the care plan for these clients.
Nova Scotia CCA Note
Sorrentino tells support workers caring for infants and children to follow the care plan for dietary requirements. In Nova Scotia, the official CCA framework describes nutrition as a core CCA competency across client care. CCAs provide nutrition services according to the care plan, Canada’s Food Guide, and workplace policies and procedures. (novascotia.ca)
The framework includes planning, preparing, cooking, and serving food for individual needs and preferences. It also includes positioning clients for nutrition and safety, providing feeding assistance, helping with adaptive feeding devices, and following food-safety principles. CCAs must stay within their scope of practice, scope of employment, and employer policies. (novascotia.ca)
Why this matters in Nova Scotia: Nutrition support is part of the CCA role beyond infant and child care, but the care plan and the CCA’s workplace limits still guide what the CCA does.
Official source: CCA Scope of Practice and Competency Framework
Last checked: September 18, 2026
Adolescence
The biggest growth spurt after infancy occurs during puberty in both boys and girls. This rapid growth increases nutrient needs.
Many adolescents have unhealthy eating habits. Examples include:
- skipping meals
- eating only fast foods and drinking soft drinks
- going on diets
- drinking alcohol
Eating disorders are becoming increasingly common among adolescents, although they can occur at any age.
Poor eating habits can lead to iron deficiency, poor physical health, poor mental health, or both.
Young and Middle Adulthood
Nutrition needs during young and middle adulthood depend on:
- age
- gender
- body size
- activity level
Unless they are extremely active, most adults need less energy than adolescents. Energy needs continue to decrease into a person’s 40s and 50s.
If adults consume more calories than their energy needs, they gain weight.
A healthy diet containing essential nutrients is important for maintaining a healthy weight and supporting personal well-being.
Pregnancy
Pregnant individuals and their developing fetuses need nutrient-rich foods.
Number to remember: Pregnancy requires about 500 additional calories per day.
Pregnant individuals are advised not to:
- smoke
- drink alcohol
- take drugs, except drugs prescribed by a health care provider
People who are pregnant and do not normally eat meat or dairy products need to discuss their diet with their physician. This helps ensure they consume adequate types and levels of protein.
Health Canada suggests increasing:
- folic acid
- iron
- calcium
Low folic acid intake before and during pregnancy increases the risk of spinal cord and brain abnormalities in infants.
Nova Scotia CCA Note
Sorrentino gives a general figure of about 500 additional calories per day during pregnancy. Current Health Canada guidance, which applies in Nova Scotia, is more specific. It describes a modest increase in energy needs during the second and third trimesters rather than one fixed extra-calorie amount throughout pregnancy. The amount of extra food needed also depends on factors such as pre-pregnancy weight and the foods chosen. (canada.ca)
Why this matters in Nova Scotia: Remember the 500-calorie figure as Sorrentino course content, while recognizing that current guidance does not use it as one universal daily target throughout pregnancy.
Official source: Applying Canada’s Dietary Guidelines: Nutrition considerations during pregnancy and to support breastfeeding
Last checked: September 18, 2026
Late Adulthood
Older adults vary widely in their health and nutritional status. Emotional, social, and physical factors can all affect nutrition.
Social and emotional factors
Some older people have spent years cooking and eating with their families. After losing a spouse or beginning to live alone, preparing meals for one person may no longer interest them.
Other challenges include:
- not driving
- difficulty carrying heavy grocery bags on public transit
- having no nearby family or friends to help with shopping or meal preparation
- having a low income
- avoiding expensive high-protein foods such as meat and cheese
- disliking food served in a long-term care facility
Physical Changes That Can Affect Eating
Aging can bring physical changes that affect nutrition in the community and in care facilities.
Mouth, Chewing, and Swallowing
- Missing teeth or poor-fitting dentures can make chewing harder and reduce the desire to eat.
- Weaker chewing and swallowing muscles can increase the risk of choking while eating.
- Reduced saliva production can cause dysphagia, which means difficulty swallowing.
Senses, Strength, and Eating
- Fewer taste buds can reduce enjoyment of food.
- Vision, hearing, and perceptual challenges can reduce meal enjoyment.
- Increased fatigue with activity can reduce the desire to continue eating.
- Difficulty feeding oneself can reduce meal enjoyment.
- Reduced muscle strength and range of motion (ROM) can make eating without assistance harder.
Digestion and Other Nutrition Challenges
- Decreased peristalsis can slow emptying of the stomach and colon and lead to gas and constipation.
- Reduced digestive juices can make fried and fatty foods harder to digest and can cause indigestion.
- The body does not absorb nutrients as easily.
- Medications can have adverse effects such as nausea, constipation, and loss of appetite.
- People living with dementia have an increased risk of malnutrition and dehydration.
Nutrition Needs in Older Adulthood
Older adults usually have lower energy levels, so they need fewer calories to maintain their body weight. Their nutritional requirements remain high.
Important food needs include:
- High-protein foods for tissue growth and repair.
- Foods high in calcium to help keep bones strong.
- High-fibre foods, such as raw vegetables, to help prevent constipation.
- Cooked fruits and vegetables as sources of soft bulk for people with constipation or chewing problems.
High-fibre raw vegetables can also be difficult to chew and can cause indigestion.
Drinking more fluids may help digestion, kidney function, chewing, and swallowing.
Good oral hygiene and properly fitting dentures can help prevent gum irritation and mouth sores. They can also improve the person’s ability to eat and taste food.
Exam Clue Words
- Follow the care plan: When caring for infants and children, the support worker follows the dietary instructions in the care plan.
- Should not: Children under 4 years of age should not receive a low-fat diet because fat is needed for brain development and energy.
Fast Review
Use these points for a quick review before your quiz or exam:
- Nutrition requirements change throughout a person’s life.
- Breast milk provides nutrients and antibodies during a baby’s first 6 months. Formula provides adequate nourishment but lacks antibodies.
- Iron-fortified cereals begin at about 4 to 6 months, followed by puréed foods.
- Most babies are ready for finger and chopped foods from 10 months to 1 year.
- Children under 4 should not receive a low-fat diet.
- Puberty brings the largest growth spurt after infancy, so nutrient needs increase.
- Most adults need less energy than adolescents unless they are extremely active.
- Pregnancy requires nutrient-rich food and about 500 extra calories each day.
- Older adults usually need fewer calories while still having high nutritional requirements.
- Aging can affect chewing, swallowing, digestion, appetite, food enjoyment, and the ability to eat independently.
- People living with dementia have a higher risk of malnutrition and dehydration.
- When caring for infants and children, follow the care plan for dietary requirements.
Final Pep Talk
There are several life stages and numbers to remember here, so focus on the pattern first. Learn how nutrition needs change from infancy through older adulthood, then review the age ranges, calorie amount, and key differences one piece at a time.