A concise but thorough and comprehensive nutrition reference for all caregivers, this text serves nursing students, nurses, nurse practitioners, dietetic students, and dietitians alike, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The content helps all readers to understand the nutritional aspects of health care delivery. Its handy, portable size, clear organization, and thorough coverage of all age groups and numerous diseases and special conditions make it a must-have resource. This new edition has been completely revised and updated to focus on nutritional assessment, making it even more current and relevant to practice. New material includes the new Dietary Reference Intakes, more information on the identification and treatment of metabolic syndrome, greater emphasis on weight control and physical activity, and more content on aging and health promotion among adults of all ages. The content integrates nutrition assessment into virtually every chapter, emphasizing performance of a thorough nutrition assessment as a basis for planning nutrition interventions and teaching, and identifying relevant nutrition assessment findings in each stage of the life cycle and each disease state. The material emphasizes the importance of weight control and physical activity in the maintenance of good health. The book includes detailed descriptions of both enteral and parenteral nutrition support in their own separate chapters, and where appropriate throughout, offering a better understanding of the appropriate use of this nutrition intervention - critical to delivery of comprehensive care to the patient/client. Explanations of the physiology or pathophysiology related to the life cycle stage or illness covered facilitates the reader's understanding of alterations in nutrient digestion, absorption, or metabolism or of specific nutrition needs related to each developmental stage. Overviews of the cultural and ethnic impact on nutrition provide a basis for understanding a patient's food intake and preferences, as well as aiding in planning acceptable nutrition interventions. Appendices feature resources for nutrition intervention, referral, and teaching - providing additional resources for the clinician involved in inpatient and outpatient care. A helpful glossary, on color-screened pages at the back of the pocket guide, offers clear definitions of potentially unfamiliar words in an easy-to-find location, improving the reader's understanding of the text. This edition offers the most recent dietary recommendations, the new Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for vitamins and minerals, and up-to-date Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). Introduces the DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), which is designed to prevent and control high blood pressure, and can be adopted as a healthy eating pattern for adults as an alternative to the Food Guide Pyramid. Additions include several methods of estimating body composition, such as the well-known Body Mass Index Method (BMI), bioelectrical impedance, DEXA, air displacement plethysmography, and MRI. Updates provide the most recent guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for coping with gastroenteritis in infants and children and new CDC recommendations for physical activity for children and teens are included. Coverage now incorporates facts about health promotion for young and middle aged adults, emphasizing the types and amounts of physical activity to be integrated into the adult’s lifestyle. The latest developments for children and teenagers have also been included, such as the most recent recommendations from the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) and the American Heart Association. New material covers three pediatric conditions that frequently require medical nutrition therapy: low birth weight, cleft lip or palate, and sickle cell anemia.