Biological and health changes presentation

1. BIOLOGICAL AND HEALTH CHANGES:
Major changes that occur in the body from birth
through death
By Arnaldo Alvarez, Joseph Acosta, and Melissa Chavez
By Arnaldo Alvarez, Joseph Acosta, and Melissa Chavez

2. STAGES OF LIFE
❖ Infancy: ages 1-3 years old
❖ Childhood: ages 3 - 6 years old
❖ Adolescence: ages 10 - 20 years old
❖ Adulthood:
● Early Adulthood: Late teens & early 20s - 30s
● Middle Adulthood: 40s - 60s
● Late Adulthood: 60s or 70s - Death

3. INFANCY
● The average newborn is 20 inches long and weighs 7 ½ pounds. Infants will lose 5 to 7 percent of
their body weight in the first several days in their life. Once infants adjust to sucking, swallowing ,
and digesting, they grow rapidly, growing an average of 5 to 6 ounces per week during the first
month. Typically they will have doubled their weight by the age of 4 months and have nearly tripled
it by their first birthday. Infants grow about ¾ inch per month during the first year. This increases
their birth length by about 40 percent by their first birthday.
● Newborns sleep 16 to 17 hours a day but the range in time varies per infant. As the infants grow,
their sleep patterns improve. By about 1 month of age, most infants have begun to sleep longer at
night. By 6 months of age, their sleep patterns improve and move closer to adult-like sleep patterns.
● By their second year of life, infants rate of growth slows considerably. At 2 years of age, infants will
have gained a quarter of a pound per month. Infants weigh approximately 26 to 32 pounds during
the second year. They will have reached about one-fifth of their adult weight. The average
2-year-old is 32 to 35 inches tall, which is nearly one-half of adult height.
● At Birth, the newborn’s brain is about 25 percent of its adult weight. By the second birthday, the
brain is about 75 percent of its adult weight. The areas of the brain do not mature uniformly
(Blakemore & Mills; 2014; Casey, 2015). The frontal lobe is immature in newborns. The frontal lobe
becomes myelinated and interconnected during the first year of life and they begin to develop an
ability to regulate their physiological states and gain more control over their reflexes.

4. INFANCY (CONTINUED)
● For proper development during infancy, nutrition and providing a loving and supporting
environment are crucial.
● Human milk or an alternative formula is the baby’s source of nutrients for the first four to
six months of life
● Research has suggested that breastfeeding is better and benefit infants in various ways
such as fewer gastrointestinal infections, low respiratory tract infections, protects agains
wheezing in babies, less likely to develop ear infection, less likely to become overweight or
obese, less likely to develop type 1 diabetes in childhood, less likely to experience SIDS

5. CHILDHOOD
Childhood can be broken down into 2 parts: Early Childhood and Middle and Late Childhood.
Early Childhood
● As preschool children grow older, the percentage of height and weight decreases with each
additional year (Goldstone & Reynolds, 2014). Generally boys are only slightly taller and
heavier than girls during these years but growth varies individually (Goldstone & Reynolds,
2014) . Boys and girls both slim down as the trunks of their bodies lengthen.
● During early childhood, the brain and head grow more rapidly than any other part of the body.
The brain in early childhood is not growing as rapidly as it does in infancy. The brains increase
in size is due to myelinated and some is due to the increase in the number and size of dendrites.
● A good night’s rest is an important aspect of a child’s development. Most young children seep
through the night and have one daytime nap. Experts recommend that young children get 11 to
13 hours of sleep each night (National Sleep Foundation, 2014). Sleep problems in early
childhood may be an early indicator of attention problems that may carry out into early
adolescence.

6. CHILDHOOD (CONTINUED)
Middle and Late Childhood
● The period of middle and late childhood involves slow, consistent growth. During their elementary
school years, children grow an average of 2 to 3 inches per year. During the middle and late
Childhood years, children gain about 5 to 7 pounds a year. The weight increase is due mainly to
increases in the size of the skeletal and muscular system, as well as the size of some body organs.
Physical changes are most pronounced in middle and late childhood.
● Significant changes to the structures and regions of the brain continue to occur during the middle
and late childhood. The brain pathways and circuitry involving the prefrontal cortex continue to
increase. The changes in the prefrontal cortex include controlling attention, reducing interfering
thoughts, inhibiting motor actions, and being cognitively flexible in switching between competing
choices (Diamond, 2013).
● Experts recommend that first to fifth graders get 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night (National Sleep
Foundation, 2014).

7. CHILDHOOD (CONTINUED)
● Two of the most important influences for healthy development during childhood is
prevention through immunizations and avoiding accidents.
● Also, malnutrition places health at risk and creates an environment for poor resistance to
disease.
● Childhood obesity increases the risk of adult obesity, which can cause serious lifelong
medical and psychological problems such as pulmonary problems, sleep apnea, hip
problems, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and elevated blood cholesterol levels.
● Social and psychological consequences of childhood obesity can lead to low self-esteem,
depression and exclusion from peer groups.
● Research has found that high fast food consumption during childhood continues and
increases in adolescence.
● Exercise for children is crucial and provides not only physical benefits such as bone strength
and lowering fat content but also benefits brain development attention, memory, creativity,
and effortful and goal directed thinking and behavior.

8. ADOLESCENCE
● Puberty is a brain-neuroendocrine process in early adolescence that brings rapid physical
changes and psychological accompaniments. Puberty is different amongst boys and girls.
Male pubertal characteristics typically develop: an increase in penis and testicle size,
appearance of straight pubic hair, minor voice change, first ejaculation, appearance of curly
public hair, onset of maximum growth in height and weight, growth in armpits, more
detectable voice changes and growth in facial hair. Female appearance of physical changes
include: for most, their breast enlarge or pubic hair appears, hair appears in the armpits,
growth in height, wider hips, and lastly menstruation. The peak rate of pubertal change
occurs at 11 ½ years for girls and 13 ½ years for boys.
● Scientists now note that the adolescent’s brain is different from the child’s brain, and that
in adolescence the brain is still growing (Reyna & Zara’s, 2014; Steinberg, 2015a, b). The
activities adolescents choose to engage in or not to engage in influence which neural
connections will strengthen and which will disappear. The corpus callousness thickens in
adolescence. The thickening improves the adolescent’s ability to process information.
● Many adolescents stay up later and sleep longer in the morning compared to when they
were children. This has been linked to school success. Adolescents who got inadequate
sleep (eight hours or less) on school nights were more likely to feel tired or sleepy, act
cranky and irritable., fall asleep in school, be in a depressed mood compared to those who
got optimal sleep.

9. ADOLESCENCE (CONTINUED)
● Several factors influence adolescent health such as family, peers, school, neighborhood and
culture.
● To maintain healthy development during adolecense the goal is to reduce behviors that
compromise health such as drug abuse, violence, unprotected sex, and dangerous driving and
to increase healthy behaviors such as eating nutritious food, exercising and wearing seat
belts.
● Studies have found that families that eat dinner together decreased risky behavior choices
such as smoking, using marijuana, fighting, and sexual activity.
● Nutrition and obesity continue to be problematic among adolescents as exercise and activity
become less during this stage. Exercise has been linked to positive outcomes such as
maintaining appropriate weight.

10. ADULTHOOD
Adulthood can be divided into early, middle and late adulthood. Each coming with its own set of decline in health and
biological changes.
General facts for all three stages: At each stage, areas of the brain begin to shrink more than others,
prefrontal cortex linked to working memory and cognitive activities decline. A decrease in sleep can lead to
cardiovascular diseases, a shortened life span, and motor impairment. 8 hours of sleep should be the goal.
● As we age cells become larger and less able to divide and multiply, they lose the ability to function or they
function abnormally. Waste products build up in tissues, and many tissues start to atrophy, which means they
lose mass. Cell and tissue changes cause our organs to change and they slowly lose function.
● Due to the decline in production of neurotransmitters during this stage, physical coordination and intellectual
performance is affected.
● There are many lifelong influences that cause us to age such as heredity, environment, diet, culture, exercise and
leisure, past illnesses and many other contributing factors which is why each person ages at a unique rate.
● Obesity in adulthood is serious and pervasive, it is linked to increased risk of hypertension, diabetes and
cardiovascular disease, it increases the probability of dying in middle adulthood, and it increases mental health
problems.
● Exercise both moderate and intense becomes more important in adulthood and late adulthood to maintain
health. To maintain health, it is recommended that each individual participate in 2 ½ hours of aerobic activity
per week such as brisk walking or stationary bike. Aerobic exercise stimulates heart and lung function.
● Lean body mass declines and 6.6 pounds of lean muscle is lost each decade during these years.
● Exercise improves cellular functioning, immune system functioning, optimizes body composition, reduces
decline in motor skills, reduces likelihood of developing mental health problems, improves brain and cognitive
functioning, and helps prevent common chronic disease.

11. ADULTHOOD (CONTINUED)
Early Adulthood: At this stage, the body will reach peak performance and function of
the joints, muscle tone and strength. This is also the stage where a human is eager to find an
intimate relationship, the inability to do so will result in isolation.
● Maximum cardiac output is reached (the amount of blood the heart pumps each minute)
● Cells in the nervous system and size of the brain begin to decrease.
● Factors such as establishing a family, a home and career can positively or negatively affect
health.
● Many patterns of unhealthy behaviors develop during this stage, some of these behaviors
include poor nutrition such as not eating breakfast or regular meals and relying on unhealthy
snacks, smoking, drinking alcohol moderately or excessively, failing to exercise, and only
sleeping a few hours per night.

12. ADULTHOOD (CONTINUED)
Middle Adulthood: Age ranges from 40s to 60s and there is an increase in
psychological well-being after age 50. Adults will feel the need to help the younger generation
develop and live useful lives, not helping will result in stagnation.
● Physical changes are gradual during this stage, varying considerably from person to
person, and include physical changes in appearance such as loss of height from ½ - 2
inches, gaining of weight, wrinkling of the skin and loss of lean muscle mass.
● Slowing of the brain and spinal cord begins in this stage and continues to accelerate through
late adulthood.
● Cardiovascular disease can set in as a result of lack of exercise and high cholesterol
levels in the blood.
● During this stage there is still time to engage in preventive health behaviors which can
influence the course of aging.
● Chronic disorders increase such as arthritis, hypertension, sinus problems, hearing impairment,
and heart disease.
● Chronic stress takes a toll on individuals harming episodic memory and executive functioning.

13. ADULTHOOD (CONTINUED)
Late Adulthood: Age ranges from 60s to 70s through death. There is a more significant
decline of strength and health. “Young old” can maintain physical and cognitive fitness, retain
cognitive capacity, develop strategies to cope with gains and losses of aging. “Oldest old” lose
cognitive skills, have more chronic stress, and become more frail. During this age group, adults
reflect on the past and can have feelings of integrity if life was well spent or feelings of despair.
Physical changes are more noticeable wrinkles, loss of weight and muscle.
● Loss of bone tissue from the skeleton continues to increase.
● Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson's increase.
● Decisions between home health care, elder-care centers, preventative medicine clinics, hospitals and
nursing homes become necessary during this stage. Research has found that older adults being cared
for at home were less depressed, had better cognitive functioning, and higher levels of social
connectedness. They also concluded that factors such as feelings of control and self-determination
were important to health and survival in nursing homes.
● Antioxidants help slow the aging process and improve health in older adults as they counteract cell
damage caused by free radicals.

14. REFERENCES
● Santrock, J. W. (2016). A topical approach to life-span development (8th ed.). New York, NY, NY:
McGraw-Hill Education.
● Blakemore, S-J., & Mills, K. (2014). The social brain in adolescence]. And your review of psychology
(Vol. 65). Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
● Casey, B.J. (2015). The Adolescent brain and self control. Annual review of psychology (Vol. 66).
Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.
● Goldstone, E., & Reynolds, A. (2014). Child development and behavior. In W. Hay, M. Levin, & M.
Abzug(Eds.), Pediatrics (22nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
● National Sleep Foundation (2014). Children’s sleep habits. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from
http://www.sleep foundation.org
● Diamond , L.M. (2013). Concepts of female sexual orientation. In C. Patterson & A.R. D’Augelli
(Eds.), The psychology of sexual orientation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
● Reyna, V.F., & Zaras, V. (Eds). (2014). The neuroscience of risky decision making. Developmental
Review, 28, 1-11.
● Steinberg, L. (2015a). How should the science of Adolescent brain pathology inform legal policy? In
J. Bhada (Ed.), Coming of age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
● Steinberg, L. (2015b). The Neural underpinnings of adolescent is taking: The roles of reward
seeking, impulse control, and peers. In G. Oettigen & P. Gollwitzer (Eds.), Self-regulation in
adolescence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
● MedLine Plus (2019). Aging changes in organs, tissues, and cells. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/004012.htm