The public health topic I chose is nutrition/malnutrition. This topic is meaningful to me because I have a family member whose child was affected by malnutrition. Sound nutrition could have prevented many of her health problems. For example, she has impaired vision, speech impairment, and she is not at the proper weight for her age. My cousin is in the second grade. She is receiving Special Education services because of her health problems. Malnutrition is the primary cause of her developmental delays.
Research shows that nutrition plays a vital part in the development of the brain in young children. When children do not receive adequate nutrition they often suffer malnutrition. It is important to have healthy eating habits which will translate into healthy eating pattern as adults. Early childhood nutrition is an excellent way to promote good life long dietary habits.
Socially economically deprived women often do not receive the proper nutrition they need in order to deliver a healthy baby. There are programs available for them such as the Women, Infant, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The WIC program offers nutritional foods for the mother and the child but, many women do not continue to receive the products after the first year of their child’s life. The reason being the mother does not complete the recertification process.
I chose Panama as a different part of the world in which I will discuss nutrition/malnutrition. The institute of Central America and Panama (INCAP) conducted a study of child growth and development. They selected residents of four villages who were of mixed Spanish and American Indian decent. The study showed that dietary supplements enriched with vegetable protein improved the children growth rates. In many third world countries, children die in large numbers simply because they do not receive adequate nutrition.
In conclusion, nutrition/malnutrition will impact my future because if students do not receive the proper nutrition their brain development will be impaired. Malnutrition will impact my students’ ability to learn. Nutrition plays an important role in children intellectual development.
References
Ellis-Christensen, Tricia. (2010, August). What are some important considerations for Early
Childhood Nutrition? Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/
Childhood Nutrition? Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/
Stein, Aryeh D., et.al. (2008, July). Nutritional Supplementation in Early Childhood, Schooling, and
Intellectual Functioning in Adulthood. Retrieved from http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/
Intellectual Functioning in Adulthood. Retrieved from http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/
Like you, I researched malnutrition/nutrition. The effects of malnutrition can be long lasting and sometimes irreversible affecting many domains of child development. Did you read about the Millennium Development Goal to cut malnutrition in half by 2015?
ReplyDeleteI also research the impact of nutrition and malnutrition on child development. I'm so sorry to hear about your young cousin who is now dealing with complications due to improper nutrition. It such a shame to see children try to develop physically, mentally, and emotionally in their environment facing problems that they did not create. I agree that improper nourishment during those early years is so vital for the future. I did not look into the specific affects of the malnutrition of pregnant women, but I enjoyed reading through your post and comparing your findings with my own.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree on what you are saying about the malnutrition. I also enjoyed reading facts about the impact it have on child development.
ReplyDeleteI’m very sorry to hear about your little cousin who is now having complications due to improper nutrition, sometimes do you think about how you can change the impact on it or how you can advise parents to be caution on what nutrition they give or what they child receives.
It is always amazing to me that scarcity of food can be an issue in a place where everything that is not needed is available. Perhaps nutrition and food education is too little, too late. A young mother is often not eating enough or eating necessary foods, and then passes the same food choices and eating habits to her children. What can be done about this?
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