Diet & it's role on Child Development
Diet & It's Role On Child Development
By Dr. Jinali Modi
Homeopath /Psychology counsellor & Dietician
Degrees Bhms ( Mumbai)
Pg psychology - London
Dietetics and Nutrition - SNDT Mumbai.
• Brain
Development: Poor nutrition has been shown to restrict brain development and IQ
levels in many children and may cause problems with attention span and
behavior.
• Healthy Growth:
The body grows exponentially in size during childhood, but it needs the right
nutrients and energy to make this happen—especially to build bones and keep
important areas healthy as they grow.
• Lower Obesity
Rates: Obesity affects nearly one in three children. It’s a very common cause
or risk factor for conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and
diabetes.
• Healthy Choices: Setting the proper baseline for your child helps ensure they’ll make healthier choices throughout their lives, even when you aren’t around to help them.
Foods to Encourage
Some of the foods that contain the best nutrients in high
densities include:
• Fruit: Nearly
all types of fruit are great for adding nutrients in a healthy way. Make sure
to target fruit without added sugars—canned fruits or fruit juices often have a
lot of these, so it’s important to read nutrition labels when choosing what to
buy at the grocery store.
• Vegetables: They’re a bit tougher to get kids to eat, but they’re just as important as fruit. Be cautious of frozen or canned veggies because they can sometimes be very high in sodium. Look for a variety of colors in veggies, as these can represent various nutrients the body needs.
• Protein: Lean
meats and poultry, plus things like beans, eggs, nuts plant-based proteins
like pulses and dals, and various soy products are good. Make sure, however, to
maintain proper portion, sizes with protein.
• Dairy: Look for
low-fat dairy products whenever possible, or even better, soy-based dairy
products.
• Grains: Look for whole grains over refined grains., add millets to your diets over gluten-related grains – add buckwheat, jowar ,bajra ,nachni, etc
Foods that contain fewer nutrients, or that might contain bad
elements for your child’s health, include:
• Sugar and sweets:
This refers to added and processed sugars, not the kind naturally found in
fruit. Consuming too much of these sugars is often a primary cause of diabetes.
• Fats: Avoid saturated and trans fats—often found in red meats and full-fat dairy. Lots of oily, fatty foods contain these bad fats, and they can cause high blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart conditions.
Daily Calorie Intake
Based on age and gender, there are a few specific calorie
guidelines you should follow.:
• Ages 2-3:
1,000-1,400 calories per day
• Ages 4-8:
1,200-1,800 calories per day for girls, 1,200-2,000 calories per day for boys
• Ages 9-13: 1,400-2,200 calories per day for girls, 1,600-2,600 calories per day for boys
• Ages 14-18:
1,800-2,400 calories for girls, 2,000-3,200 calories per day for boys
Physical Effects of lack of healthy diet :
Inadequate nutrition for children during infancy, childhood, or
adolescence can restrict growth; weaken immunity and increase infections and
diseases. Undernutrition begins with conception itself due to maternal
undernutrition. It can lead to the delivery of low birth-weight babies.
In India, almost 1% of preschool children suffer from severe
forms of protein-energy malnutrition. Sub-clinical undernourishment is
prevailing in almost half of the 5-year-old children with underweight symptoms,
stunting, and wasting. Poor or insufficient diet can cause catabolism of body
tissues and failure to provide energy substrate. Continuous undernutrition in
the childhood years leads to short stature in adults.
Effect on the Nervous System
The central nervous system is most susceptible to nutritional
impact during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy until two years of age. Diet has a
dual role in cognitive development:
- It
provides substrates from which the brain has been constructed.
- It
provides energy for the adequate functioning of the brain.
Both intrauterine and extra-uterine malnutrition have a great
impact on brain function and brain structure composition. All these changes are
associated with:
- Delay
in cognitive and motor functions
- Impaired
school performance
- Poor
memory
- Learning
disorders
- Reduced
social skills
- Lower
IQ scores
The nutritionally adequate and balanced diet is to prevent those
mentioned above physical and psychological ill-effects and for the optimum
growth, development, and boosting of children’s immune function.
Child Malnutrition
Child malnutrition is one of the biggest issues in India. Almost
one child out of six does not have enough food to lead a healthy and active
life.
Childhood Obesity
In children, being overweight and obese has resulted in a series of
physical and psychological consequences that can be so serious that they
manifest themselves in childhood. The most frequent consequences of childhood
obesity are both metabolic (glucose intolerance, high blood pressure) and
non-metabolic in nature, such as osteoarticular (articular pain, reduced
mobility, flat feet), and psychological pathologies (poor body image, eating
disorders, depression). Obesity involves emotional, social, and psycho-social
consequences that are significant for children and adolescents.
This childhood obesity, in turn, out to be the risk of
depression and anxiety. In addition, overweight children have lower self-esteem
and are more likely to decrease their social and psychological development.
They have lower self-esteem; they are more susceptible to behavior with a
negative health impact, such as drinking and smoking. In addition, children who
have been overweight/obese are more susceptible to cardio-circulatory (high
blood pressure, heart disease), muscular-skeletal (early development of
arthritis due to static-dynamic stress), and cancer of the gastrointestinal
tract.
Child Emotional Stress
Emotional
stress is associated with food fads and weight-loss trends, especially in
girls, which can lead to a relationship with food that is not serene and
balanced. Also, overweight and obesity in adolescents constitute a serious
nutritional problem that tends, with high probability, to carry over into adult life. Obesity in adolescence is connected
with metabolic diseases and in adulthood with higher mortality rates.Children are facing emotional stress because of a lack of energy
and specific nutrients which they require. The stress and emotional anxiety
typical of the adolescent years can negatively impact teenagers’ nutritional
equilibrium, resulting in insufficient or excessive food consumption. In
addition, infections, emotional tension, menstruation, and teeth or skin
problems can influence appetite and increase the vulnerability of adolescents
whose diet must be such to properly meet the caloric demands of their
bodies.
Importance of Nutrition for Children
- For good
health & body development during the early years of life, it is
important to have proper nutrition for children.
- In case
children do not eat the right amount of macronutrients such as protein,
fat, and carbohydrates and micronutrients such as vitamin A, iodine, iron,and zinc, in that scenario they can become ill or may develop mental
health issues.
- Optimal
nutrition and correction of nutritional deficiencies during the early
years are of particular significance as beyond two years of age, a
reversal can become very difficult.
Nutritional Requirements for Growing Children
Macronutrients
Carbohydrates
A major energy source for all cells is carbohydrates, which are
the primary source of energy for erythrocytes and the CNS. Complex instead of
simple carbohydrates will contribute to a greater extent to the diet.
sources of vitamins and fiber. Whole fruits instead of fruit
juices must preferably be given to children.
Proteins
Protein-energy malnutrition hampers the brain, immune system, and
intestinal mucosal functions. Protein requirement is more necessary for infants and
growing children than for adults. All the essential amino acids must be provided
through dietary intake. For children who are vegetarians a variety of food
sources, including legumes and corn, must be incorporated to meet the
requirement of essential amino acids.
Breast milk is considered a good source of proteins for infants.
For children and adolescents, milk is an important source of good quality
proteins in addition to other animal and vegetable food sources. Overall, for
children, almost 10% to 35% of total calories will come from proteins.
Fats
In addition to being energy-dense, fats provide essential fatty
acids and have important structural and functional roles. Fatty acids are
needed for the development of nervous system myelination in younger children
less than two years of age. Fats also facilitate the absorption of fat-soluble
vitamins.
The functions of fats are important for neurological and ocular
development. For children younger than two years, 25% to 40% of total calories
will come from fat, and for older children, 10% to 35% of calories will come from
fat.
Micronutrients
Calcium
In childhood and adolescence, adequate calcium intake is
important for bone development during the growing years and later years of life.
The dairy products such as milk are a good source of calcium. However,
recommended dietary allowances for calcium are about 600 to 800 mg/d, higher
calcium intakes during adolescence help to achieve peak bone mass.
For children who do not consume an adequate amount of milk products,
calcium requirements can be met by other sources such as tofu, green leafy
vegetables, ragi, sesame seeds, and calcium-fortified food products.
Iron
Iron deficiency is another very common problem among children and is associated with anemia and neurocognitive deficits. Iron present in animal food sources is more bioavailable than that is present in plant sources. Vitamin C-rich foods can promote the absorption of iron in the body.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is also a very important micronutrient as it is required
for clear vision in dim light and maintenance of epithelial tissues’ integrity.
It plays a role in maintaining resistance against common infections. Orange,
yellow, and dark green fruits and vegetables are rich sources of beta-carotene,
which is the precursor of retinol.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is critical for calcium and bone metabolism, and its
adequate intake is very important for long-term bone health. In infants, the
deficiency of vitamin D can cause rickets, and other severe deficiencies can lead
to hypocalcemic seizures.
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