Erin is a 28-year-old professional woman who is 5 feet 8 inches tall and vigilantly maintains her weight at 118 pounds by following a lacto-ovo (non-fat milk and egg whites only) vegetarian diet that supplies approximately 1200 calories a day. With her understanding that protein should provide between 10 and 35 percent of her daily calories, she reasons that her daily intake of 40 grams of protein from milk, eggs, legumes, and nuts is adequate for her needs. She is concerned, however, that she has been sick more than usual and has experienced two stress fractures in her leg over the past three years while exercising. Assignment: The analysis of Erin’s protein adequacy is one of the assignments to turn into your instructor this week. Please answer each of the following questions in the textbox provided. Explain why Erin’s assumptions about her protein needs are unrealistic based on her current weight. Assuming a healthy weight for Erin is 141 pounds, use the information from the “How to” feature (p. 185) in this chapter to calculate her recommended daily protein requirement. Show your calculations. What percentage of Erin’s current energy intake comes from protein? Remember that protein provides approximately 4 kcalories per gram.) Is this adequate? Why or why not? Erin’s energy needs for a healthy weight are closer to 1600 calories a day. How might her low calorie intake influence her protein status and possibly contribute to her current health issues? How would you explain to Erin how her low intake of calories and protein contribute to her risk for osteoporosis? Assuming Erin consumes 20 grams of protein from whole grains, vegetables, and legumes each day, calculate how she can meet the remainder of her protein needs with dairy foods and egg whites.
