During a nutrition study, a participant consumes five times the physician-recommended amount of food but is unable to sufficiently absorb nutrients. Given this information, this participant would be LEAST likely to exhibit which of the following conditions?

Question

During a nutrition study, a participant consumes five times the physician-recommended amount of food but is unable to sufficiently absorb nutrients.  Given this information, this participant would be LEAST likely to exhibit which of the following conditions?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11ecba2d_1019_97a0_a3bf_17065818a131_MD0008_00 The gastrointestinal tract is composed of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Upon ingestion, food is broken down in the mouth and travels down the esophagus to the stomach where chyme, a semifluid mixture of partially digested food, is formed and enters the small intestine. In the small intestine, intestinal and pancreatic enzymes break down macromolecules, which are then absorbed via diffusion through absorptive cell membranes or through intestinal transporters. Next, food enters the large intestine, the site where additional water absorption occurs and where microbial communities (gut flora) synthesize vitamins and metabolize remaining carbohydrates. In this scenario, the participant consumes a large meal but is unable to sufficiently absorb nutrients. Nutrient absorption in the gastrointestinal tract is influenced by several factors, including: The presence and diversity of fatty acid-producing bacteria in the large intestine. These bacteria metabolize undigested carbohydrates from the small intestine into short-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids are absorbed and used as additional energy sources. A decrease in these bacterial species would lead to decreased absorption of additional fatty acids as nutrients (Choice A). The small intestine's surface area. Large folds in the intestine's epithelial lining slow the movement of chyme through the intestinal tract. In addition to these large folds, villi (fingerlike projections) extending from the lining and microvilli (cytoplasmic extensions) of individual absorptive cells maximize the time and surface area available for nutrient absorption. Decreased surface area, potentially caused by structural damage (eg, villi destruction), would impair nutrient absorption (Choice B). The functions of intestinal proteins. Structural proteins, digestive enzymes, and nutrient transporters work synergistically to break down and absorb nutrients within the gastrointestinal tract. Because antibodies mark cellular materials for destruction by cells of the immune system, production of antibodies against intestinal proteins would cause the destruction of these proteins, damaging the intestinal tract and decreasing nutrient absorption (Choice C). (Choice D) Intestinal nutrient transporters facilitate nutrient absorption from the intestinal tract into the body. Therefore, increased nutrient transporter activity would increase (not decrease) nutrient absorption. Educational objective: Nutrient absorption in the gastrointestinal tract is affected by the diversity of intestinal bacteria (gut flora), the surface area of the small intestine, and the functions of intestinal proteins (digestive enzymes, nutrient transporters, structural proteins).

During a Nutrition Study, a Participant Consumes Five Times the Physician-Recommended