Children's Health and Well-being: The Impact of Diet on Child Health

This report examines the crucial role of nutrition in children's health and well-being. It emphasizes the importance of balanced diets, rich in vitamins and minerals, for both physical and mental development. The report discusses the negative impacts of poor dietary choices, such as the consumption of junk food, and the resulting short-term and long-term health issues, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems. It highlights the significance of healthy eating habits for brain development, strong immune systems, and overall child health, while also addressing the consequences of malnutrition and the importance of parental guidance in fostering positive dietary behaviors. The report stresses the need for regular health check-ups and physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and it advocates for nutritious snacks and beverages to support children's growth and cognitive function.

CHILDREN’S HEALTH
AND WELL BEING 6

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
This project discuss about importance of healthy diet on child (Pérez‐Escamilla, and
Segura‐Pérez 2011). Nutritions are very important for child mental and physical development.
Proper diet can make child healthy and strong. Consumption of fruits and vegetables improve
immune system of child. Child absorb nutritions very fast as compared to adults. Diet with right
amount of proteins, vitamins, minerals is knows as balanced diet. Childhood is stage where brain
develop. Consumption of junk food and fast food can make child unhealthy. This can make
child suffer from different type of long term and short term disease. Balanced diet help in healthy
functioning of brain and heart.
MAIN BODY
The impacts of poor diet on children's health and well-being
Nutrition is very important to keep a child healthy and strong. It plays an important role
in complete development of a child. Imbalance diet makes the child’s immune system weak.
Weak immune system can make the child ill frequently (Black and Walker, 2016). They should
intake food full of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Proper nutrition prevents the child from
being ill. Each supplement is important for the growth and development of child’s health.
Absorption rate of nutrients is very high in the young child. Inadequate diet affects the
development of mental and physical health of child. Nutrition is important for healthy eye sight
of children. Proper intake of calcium makes the bone strong and healthy. It is very important to
provide the child with right quality of nutrients. Supplements like protein, calcium, fatty acid and
calcium are very necessary for the child’s growth.
There should be balanced intake of nutrition. Consumption of unhealthy food can lead to
poor health. Child can face problems like early tooth decay, malformed bones, regular muscle
cramps, etc. Children are the future of country. It is important to take good care of their health.
Intake of unhealthy food on regular basis can make the child weak. This can even lead to long
term disease like diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Poor diet makes the child’s memory weak.
Childhood is the time of rapid brain development (Dyment, Bell, and Green, 2017). At this
stage, brain needs proper nutrition to build up the working memory. Nutrition like zinc and
copper is important for the development of strong brain. It is necessary to look after the mental
development of child. Malnutrition can cause many disabilities.
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Child’s brain is growing rapidly and it is sensitive to intake the nutrition. Brain is
responsible for learning and understanding power of child. Insufficient nutrition can make the
child suffer with conical diseases. Junk food is not good for health as it contains artificial colours
and preservatives. Unhealthy food can slower down the development and growth of a child.
Imbalanced diet can affect the long term and short term health of a toddler (Stenberg and Sweeny
2014).
Long term effect
Long term problems are associated with obesity, diabetes, heart problems and blood
pressure. Obesity is the common problem found in many children. Main reason of this disease is
unhealthy eating habits. Children with overweight are under the category of obesity. In the UK,
every four out of ten children suffer with this problem. Parents must consult health specialist to
know whether their child is overweight or not. Toddlers are growing continuously. This make it
difficult to figure out whether they are unhealthy or not. To avoid this problem, child must be
given with proper diet. According to the UK’s obesity society, BMI on 75 percentile suggests
that child is overweight. There are many factors that can make the child over weight. Intake of
diet which is full of sugar, fat and processed food makes the child fat.
If a kid spends maximum amount of time in watching television and playing video
games, this can lead to obesity (Lawrence and Zubrick, 2015). To avoid the problem of
overweight, child must be given with proper supplement. Overweight children become
overweight adults in the future. Obesity has high health risk. Fat persons are likely to face more
health problems as compared to healthy persons. Main reasons for cardio vascular disease is
accumulation of fat in coronary arteries which affect the functioning of heart. This reduces the
flow of oxygen to heart. Deposit of fatty acid blocks artery completely which can cause heart
attack to the person. Blocked artheromos can also be the reason behind stroke. High fat diet can
result to Atherosclerosis. Generally, fat is of two types i.e. good and bad. Saturate fat increases
the cholesterol level in blood cells. Cheese, butter and meat contain high amount of cholesterol.
High blood pressure is commonly found in the children of UK. This can lead to heart attack and
strokes.
This problem is mainly found in people who are overweight. Increase in blood flow is
caused because of high cholesterol diet. Toddlers with excess weight require more pressure to
push the blood. This can lead to the damage of blood cells (Neal and Hammer, 2017). People
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who are overweight since childhood encounter the damage in cardio vascular system. Diabetes is
caused because person’s pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin. It is the hormone which
carries glucose to cell. Overweight person has a lot of fat accumulated in his stomach which can
be a cause of diabetes. Active fat produce chemical which make body cell insulin resistance.
When this happens, pancreas work very fast to produce the insulin. After trying hard, they
become tired and stop producing insulin. Deficiency of insulin increases the level of glucose in
body. High blood glucose causes severe damage to the body. Heart and arteries are adversely
affected.
Child must be encouraged to participate in the physical activities. These problems can be
avoided by maintaining proper weight and keep the child healthy and fit. Parents are suggested to
give their child a healthy diet. Toddlers must be taken to health specialist regularly. It important
to maintain the healthy lifestyle. Children are suggested to perform activities like running and
cycling. Kid’s diet must be full of nutrition. Healthy diet can improve their concentration and
learning power. Strong immune system gives child the strength to fight with different types of
diseases. Children must be nourished with plenty of vitamins and minerals (Langford, and et.al.,
2014 ). Intake of right supplements assure the growth and development of child to a correct rate.
They play an important role in the functioning of body. Improper diet can affect the functioning
of brain. Deficiency of vitamin B can make the person suffer from depression. Well balanced
diet can help in maintaining the healthy brain. Poor nutrition even affects the social skills of
child.
Mental health can also affect the behaviour of child. They face the problem of aggression,
anxiety and depression. Malnourishment is a stage in which child does not get enough nutrients
to function properly. Parents must plan a healthy diet for their child. Balanced diet should
include right amount of vitamins and minerals. It is important to develop healthy eating habits of
child. At early stage of childhood, children must be motivated to choose healthy eating habits.
They must consume nutritious snacks and beverages. Child must have access to fresh drinking
water.
High caalorie food can increase chances of liver problem. Liver disease can be caused because of
obesity. Liver problem are commonly found in people those who are overweight.
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Lack of calcium can give rise to various problems related to bone. In order to develop strong
bone structure. Child need calcium and protein. Osteoporosis is disease that decreases bone
density of child. This is very serious disease.
Bone development problem : lack of calcium and nutrients can affect bone development of
children's. This includes problems like infection, injury or cancer. Bone disorder can cause pain
in legs during walking and running of child. Development of bone take place in child hood. It is
very significant to provide child with sufficient nutritions.
Osteoporosis is a type of disease related to bones. In this stage capacity of child bone become
weak and less dense. This disease is caused because of lack of calcium intake. Osteoporosis is a
situation where bones can easily get fractured and cause serious issues among child.
Pregnancy problems · Gout · Arthritis this problem is caused because of accumulation of uric
acid in joints. It is presented in gouty tophi. This problems is very common in women and it
generally occurs after menopause.
Infertility problems are related to problems of ovulation. In this disease eggs do not get
fertilised in ovulation process. It leads to blockage of fallopian tubes. Lack of nutritions can
cause infertility problems among women.
Short term effect of poor diet
Junk foods are unhealthy and these have direct impact on child’s health. Generally, junk
foods are tasty that will encourage the child to eat more. Continuous consumption of unhealthy
food makes the child fat and overweight (Landsverk, 2017). This can even lead to lack of
nutrition in child’s body. Medical science of UK research conclude that children eat more junk
food as compared to healthy food. It is necessary to consume nutritious diet in growing stage.
Long term consumption of unhealthy food damage the arteries of child. This has a severe effect
on the mental health of child. Poor diet has direct impact on the health of individual. It can cause
heart burn and indigestion. Regular intake of fats and cholesterol can badly damage the digestion
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system. These food lack in fibre which generally cause constipation, gastric trouble and
abdominal pain (Bradshaw, 2016).
Junk food contains high amount of sugar which can increase the level of glucose in blood cell.
Heartburn is the sensation of pain near chest area. This food can cause hormonal imbalance.
Indigestion is a common disease found in many children. Unhealthy eating habits can disturb the
child’s sleeping schedule. Many children suffer with sleeping disorder. Medical science suggests
that children should sleep for 8 to 9 hours. Heartburns allow child to sleep for small durations.
Eating fatty meals just before bedtime can cause gastric trouble. Too much consumption of sugar
can make the child restless. Packed and junk foods contain very less amount of nutrients. Fatty
acid present in food make child feel energetic temporarily. Too much consumption of junk food
can reduce the energy level in child. Eating of unhealthy food have adverse effect on your body
and brain. This can cause iron deficiency in child. Child is not getting enough supply of iron.
This means body is not producing enough haemoglobin. Eating food with high sugar contain can
cause tooth decay. Junk food do not give enough nutritions to child. Foods like soda and ice
cream are not good supplement of vitamins and minerals. Eating more of these food can lead to
fatigue, these food divert blood away from heart and brain. Food with high calorie take extra
time to digest. This make you feel lazy next day. Having sugary drink at night can ruin bedtime
of child. Frequent consumption of these drinks can affect sleeping cycle of child (Pérez‐
Escamilla, and Segura‐Pérez 2011). Caffeine intake make child awake for longer duration of
time. Cold drinks has adverse effect on there metabolism. Children's become addictive to fast
food because of artificial taste. Spices used in junk food can trouble there digestive system.
Eating food rich in antioxidant affect functioning of brain. This can increase chances of
depression in child. Nutrients play significant role in study habit of child. Healthy food develop
concentration power. Junk food use up all energy of child and reduce here ability to concentrate
in class. If a child is continuously consuming unhealthy food this will make child hungry after an
hour. Junk food immediately damage working of organs. These food contain high calorie intake
and less nutrition. Food provide energy to our body to function properly. Consumption of large
amount of bakery items like chips and cookies can cause early tooth decay of child. Muscle
cramps are caused because of low calcium and magnesium. poor nutritions can cause stress
among children's. Junk food can make child over eat. Deficiency of nutritions can make toddler
lethargic and weak. There is lack of coordination between sense. They find difficulty in
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understanding situations and finding there solutions. Insufficient growth of child brain can be
reflected in there behaviour. Child may become aggressive, short tempered and nervous. These
symptoms suggest that child is mentally ill. Children's those who carry extra weight are likely to
get tired soon. They face emotional consequences because of being obese. Consumption of fatty
acid and omega6 can make a child suffer from asthma and breathing difficulties. Obesity is
another reason that can cause asthma. Junk food can even make child insomniac. Poor diet can
affect child capacity to perform work. Child need nutritions to grow mentally and physically.
Toxic diet release chemical which can affect child healthy. This can increase chances of
dementia. Insulin is produced to maintain glucose level in body. Brain produce insulin which
help in carrying signal between nerves (Black and Walker, 2016). Consumption of high calorie
food can stop functioning of brain, this can cause short term memory loss of child. Excess
consumption of fried food can make child suffer from severe diseases. Proceeded food send mix
signal to brain. This can make child fatigue. Nutritions are very important for child body. Fast
food are designed to attract children's. They make children addicted to junk food. Consumption
of junk food can make child suffer from diseases like tooth decay, stomach ache, diabetics.
Packed food contains high amount of carbohydrates that are not healthy for child. This can make
child sick. Food contain sugar and fat that make child consume more of that food.
Child must consume variety of healthy food. They must eat 2 fruit daily. Children's are
allowed to have junk food only twice a week. Fast consumption must be in small quantity.
Parents are suggested to provide child with balanced diet. Toddlers are suggested drink fresh
juices instead of packed drinks and cold drinks. Family enjoy cooking healthy food for child.
Eating diet that contains rich amount of vitamins and minerals make child mentally and
physically fit. Vegetable and fruits contains low amount of sugar and carbohydrates. Healthy
diet protect child from serious various type of serious diseases. Consumption of food that are
rich in fibre can control heart disease and diabetes. Right intake of nutritions can make child
enthusiastic. Food rich in vitamins keep eye and skin healthy. Healthy food protect child from
different infection. Food and vegetables are rich source of potassium that maintain over all
health. Child that consumes right amount of vegetables and fruits are likely to avoid chances of
chronic disease. Nutritions are important for maintaining health of child (Dyment, Bell, and
Green, 2017).
Malnutrition malnourishment
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It is very common health problem that arise
because insufficient consumption of nutrients.
In UK many children are admitted to hospital.
Unhealthy diet can lead to malnutrition. It is
very important for children to have nutritious
diet.
Malnourishment is not consuming proper
nutritions food. Body need different nutrients
to perform function. Deficient of particular
nutrients can lead to malnourishment. In this
body lac in specific nutrients.
CONCLUSION
This project conclude that healthy diet is very important for growth and development of
child. Parents must take necessary steps to provide child with healthy diet. It is important for
child to consume right amount of nutritions. Consumption of unhealthy food can affect long term
and short term health of child. This can make child suffer from different type of disease. Healthy
food provide with different type of health benefit. Healthy eating habit can prevent from disease
like heart attack, diabetes and cancer. Eating balanced diet and regular exercises can make child
strong and healthy. Fruits and vegetables are very important part of diet.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Black, R., and Walker, N. eds., 2016. Disease Control Priorities, (Volume 2): Reproductive,
Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health. The World Bank.
Bradshaw, J. ed., 2016. The Well-being of Children in the UK. Policy Press.
Dyment, J.E., Bell, A. and Green, M., 2017. Green outdoor environments: Settings for
promoting children's health and wellbeing.
Landsverk, J., 2017. Beyond common sense: Child welfare, child well-being, and the evidence
for policy reform. Routledge.
Langford, R.,and et.al., 2014. The WHO Health Promoting School framework for improving the
health and well-being of students and their academic achievement. Cochrane Database
Syst Rev, 4(4), p.CD008958.
Lawrence, D., and Zubrick, S.R., 2015. The mental health of children and adolescents: report on
the second Australian child and adolescent survey of mental health and wellbeing.
Neal, M.B. and Hammer, L.B., 2017. Working couples caring for children and aging parents:
Effects on work and well-being. Psychology Press.
Pérez‐Escamilla, and Segura‐Pérez, S., 2016. Impact of the Baby‐friendly Hospital Initiative on
breastfeeding and child health outcomes: a systematic review. Maternal & child
nutrition, 12(3), pp.402-417.
Peters, W.R., Colvin, D., and Healthcare Economics Committee, 2017. What Every Colorectal
Surgeon Should Know About the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance
Program Reauthorization Act of 2015. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, 60(9), pp.879-
880.\
Stenberg, K., and Sweeny, K., 2014. Advancing social and economic development by investing
in women's and children's health: a new Global Investment Framework. The
Lancet, 383(9925), pp.1333-1354.
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