Expert: Walter Hintz - 10/30/2005

Question
I have a question that my science teacher gave to the class, and i can't find the answer anywhere! It is:
Explain why an increase in an adult's daily intake of protein food causes a corresponding increase in the amount of urea in the urine, whereas this happens to a lesser extent when a child eats more protein.

Please help!!!
Thanks,
Kim

Answer
Hi Kim;
Simple.  The child needs more protein than an adult.  During the metabolism of proteins there is more Nitrogen to get rid of so there is an increase in urea.  This is because the amino acids are metabolized rather than used to build up more proteins.  A child is growing more muscle mass and requires more protein than an adult so the amino acids are not broken down.