Journal of Childhood Obesity Open Access

Effectiveness of Primary Care in Maternity and Child Health and Food Supplements Required for Child Growth

Lea H Mallett^* Department of Public Health and Children’s Environmental Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, United States
^*Correspondence: Lea H Mallett, Department of Public Health and Children’s Environmental Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, United States, Email:

Received: 02-Jan-2023, Manuscript No. IPJCO-23-15691; Editor assigned: 04-Jan-2023, Pre QC No. IPJCO-23-15691 (PQ); Reviewed: 18-Jan-2023, QC No. IPJCO-23-15691; Revised: 23-Jan-2023, Manuscript No. IPJCO-23-15691 (R); Published: 30-Jan-2023, DOI: 10.36648/2572-5394.23.8.005

Introduction

Food insecurity is a reality for many South African families, with around 50% of families living below the poverty line and unable to afford basic, healthy food. Low-income families typically spend about a third of their total spending on groceries. The spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa is putting additional pressure on vulnerable households facing temporary or permanent job losses. In addition, the primary caregivers in these households must now feed additional mouths, including children who previously benefited from the national school feeding program and who also depend on their caregivers. The outbreak of COVID-19 in South Africa has forced the government to develop measures to ensure vulnerable households have access to safe and nutritious food during the current state of emergency. One at the provincial government level concerns the distribution of food aid packages to vulnerable families. Food packages will help many families survive one of the biggest pandemics of our time.

Description

Low and high birth weight (BW) are associated with obesity later in life; however, this relationship has not been extensively studied in African countries. This study determines the relationship between body weight and body composition derived from deuterium oxide (D₂O) dilution in South African children aged 6 to 10 years (n=91; 40 boys, 51 girls). BW was retrospectively covered by Roads to Children’s Health maps. Interventions to improve diet quality and fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in Canadian children have had limited success, and it has been suggested that nutritional literacy may be key to improvement. The programs have been criticized for not adequately linking food knowledge to food skills and consumption decisions. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with the use of FV by elementary school children aged 9 to 14 years in Ontario, Canada, including nutritional knowledge, socioeconomic status, socio-demographic characteristics, and dietary environment. A cross-sectional survey of 2,443 students at 60 elementary schools in South-western Ontario (SWO), Canada, was conducted between 2017 and 2019. The parent survey was used to test for self-reported socio-demographic variables. Food insecurity is associated with inadequate intake of certain nutrients and poor health. Canadian children ages 9 to 18 living in nutritionally insecure households were more likely to have inadequate intakes of some nutrients, including protein, vitamin A, and magnesium; and had higher intakes of high-energy foods, which can impact weight and have long-term health consequences anxiety and depression and socio-health outcomes (For example, having trouble concentrating at school. Children need the right food at the right time to grow and develop fully. The most critical period for good nutrition is the 1,000 days between pregnancy and the baby’s second birthday. During the first two years of life, breastfeeding saves lives, protects babies from disease, supports brain development, and provides babies with a safe and nutritious food source. UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that infants start breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth, be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months, and continue breastfeeding until age 2 years or older.

Conclusion

At 6 months, babies should start eating their first foods. Young children should be fed frequently and in sufficient amounts throughout the day, and their meals should be nutritious and include a variety of food groups. Caregivers should prepare and serve meals with clean hands and utensils, and interact with the infant to respond to hunger cues. Young children’s diets often consist of grains with little fruit, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, fish or meat. Many people are increasingly consuming sugary drinks and packaged snacks high in salt, sugar and fat. Poor diet in childhood can lead to deficiencies in essential vitamins and nutrients, such as: Vitamin A deficiency, which weakens children’s immunity, increases the risk of blindness, and can lead to death from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea. Meeting the nutritional needs of children at a young age can be challenging, and many parents face obstacles when it comes to ensuring their children are getting enough nutritious, safe, convenient and age-appropriate foods. In conflicts, disasters and other humanitarian crises, these challenges are even greater.