3.4  Nutritional requirements in infancy, childhood and adolescence

The common feature of infancy, childhood and adolescence is that all these age groups are undergoing rapid growth and development. This in turn poses a heavy demand on their nutritional requirements. Small children and infants do not have a well developed body nutrient store, and therefore are more vulnerable to infection. In addition they have a larger surface area compared to their body size. All these factors increase their basal metabolic rate (BMR), resulting in an increased requirement for nutrients.