Each nutrient has a job. A mark usually needs the nutrient, a food that supplies it, and what happens when the diet is short of it.
The idea
Carbohydrate supplies energy. Cereals, roots, tubers and sugars are the usual sources. Protein is for growth and repair. Meat, fish, eggs, milk and legumes supply it. Fat supplies energy and carries the fat soluble vitamins, which are A, D, E and K. The B group and vitamin C dissolve in water. Vitamin C is linked with scurvy. Vitamin D is linked with rickets. Iron is used to make haemoglobin, so a shortage is linked with anaemia. Calcium is linked with bones and teeth. Iodine is linked with the thyroid. Water and fibre have jobs too. Fibre is not a source of energy.
Kwashiorkor is linked to a diet very low in protein. Marasmus is linked to a diet very low in energy. They are related and they are not the same condition. Digestion breaks food down so the body can absorb it. A food test names the nutrient you were looking for, what you observed, and then the conclusion. Do not invent a calorie figure. The name, the source and the job are the marks.
The Food and Nutrition tips guide sets out the papers, the practical, and the mistakes that cost marks. WASSCE Food and Nutrition tips
What earns the marks
Put a vitamin in the right group before you name a disease. A, D, E and K are fat soluble. The B group and vitamin C are water soluble. Kwashiorkor is not marasmus. A food named with no nutrient, or a nutrient named with no job, is half an answer. Do not invent a figure for how much a person needs.
Practice questions
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
1Question 1
4 marks
(a) Name the two groups of vitamins, and give one vitamin in each group. (2 marks)
(b) State one function of the vitamin you named in the water soluble group. (2 marks)
Model answer
(a) Fat soluble vitamins include vitamin A. Water soluble vitamins include vitamin C.
(b) Vitamin C helps the body resist infection and keeps the skin and gums healthy. A shortage is linked with scurvy.
Mark scheme
Fat soluble, with A, D, E or K1 mark
Water soluble, with vitamin C or one of the B group1 mark
A function of the water soluble vitamin named1 mark
The function matches that vitamin, not a different one1 mark
2Question 2
4 marks
Distinguish between kwashiorkor and marasmus. (4 marks)
Model answer
Kwashiorkor is linked to a diet very low in protein. The child may have a swollen belly and thin hair. Marasmus is linked to a diet very low in energy. The child is very thin. Both are forms of undernutrition, and they are not the same condition.
Mark scheme
Kwashiorkor: a diet very low in protein1 mark
One feature of kwashiorkor, such as swelling or thin hair1 mark
Marasmus: a diet very low in energy1 mark
One feature of marasmus, such as severe thinness1 mark
3Question 3
3 marks
State two functions of protein in the body, and name one food that supplies it. (3 marks)
Model answer
Protein is used for growth and for repair of worn tissue. Beans supply protein.
Mark scheme
Growth, or building new tissue1 mark
A second function, such as repair or making enzymes1 mark
A food that supplies protein, such as meat, fish, eggs, milk or a legume1 mark
Practise Food and Nutrition with Anna
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Vitamins A, D, E and K. The B group and vitamin C dissolve in water. Scurvy belongs with vitamin C. Rickets belongs with vitamin D.
How do I keep kwashiorkor and marasmus apart?+
Kwashiorkor is a diet very low in protein. Marasmus is a diet very low in energy. Name the one the question asked about, and give one feature that belongs to it. All WASSCE Food and Nutrition past questions