Janeen Wilson
Professor Benjamin Swett
Writing for Science
25th October 2021
How does childhood nutrition relate to future health outcomes?
INTRODUCTION
How important is your health as an adult? What changes have you made in your life to better your health status and increase your life expectancy? Cancer, hypertension, diabetes and many other chronic diseases are prematurely killing people. At some point, we must take control of our health to avoid serious health complications. Thanks to a modern advanced medical system, there are ways to medically support people living with chronic diseases. There should be other methods that can prevent or reduce the chances for people to develop a chronic medical condition. The focus in this review would be on childhood nutrition and the effects on future health outcomes. In regards to childhood nutrition there are a few factors that surround it including; the important role parents have concerning their child’s diet, the first foods that is introduced to the child, and the socioeconomic status that determines access to specific foods.
ARTICLES
The following articles used in this essay supports the idea that a healthy childhood diet is one method of promoting long term health. This essay also contributes to a bigger mission, that is an evaluation of the effects of a person’s socioeconomic status on their health. All the articles
highlighted the role of parents concerning the nutrition of their child and the importance of their choices of food. These articles share an interest in the importance of childhood nutrition. All the studies promoted healthy eating habits for children and their parents. Obviously, a child can’t be responsible for their own diet. Therefore parents need to know the importance of what they feed their child will affect the child’s health and development in a good or bad way. A low socioeconomic status is the biggest hindrance for families to gain access to good and healthy foods, but there are programs available to provide food assistance.
The role of parents in their child’s nutrition. The purpose of the article “Parental Self-Efficacy as a Predictor of Children’s Nutrition and the Potential Mediator Effect between the Health Promotion Program “Join the Healthy Boat” and Children’s Nutrition.”was to examine the effects the Parents have concerning the child’s eating habits. A study was done to evaluate the effects of Parent’s self efficacy on fruits and vegetables intake compared to the effects of Parents self efficacy on soft drinks. This study was done in Germany and the participants in the study were kindergarteners and their parents. “The first aim of this study was to show whether parental self-efficacy affects the nutrition behavior of kindergarten children.”(Möhler R, Wartha O, Steinacker JM, Szagun B, Kobel S. ) The article began with the author naming several non communicable diseases and the risk factors of these diseases. A poor diet was mentioned as one of the risk factors for these diseases. “A healthy diet is vital for children…”(Möhler R, Wartha O, Steinacker JM, Szagun B, Kobel S. ) The author continued to explain that a healthy diet is important for children because it contributes to the overall physical health and the cognitive development of the children. The healthy boat organization was implemented to help
increase fruits and vegetables intake in children, while reducing the number of sugary drinks intake. The parents’ self-efficacy on fruits and vegetables intake was a method used to model a healthier eating habit in the presence of the child. This was done hoping that the child will copy the parents behavior. “Parental self-efficacy has been shown to be helpful for a positive parent-child relationship, parental competence, educational quality, and (mental) parental health, as well as child development and adaptability.” (Möhler R, Wartha O, Steinacker JM, Szagun B, Kobel S. ) The significant findings included that the food the parents eat is usually the food the child would like to eat. Well then, it is vital that all parents expose their child or children to healthy non processed foods. A good practice would be for the child to see their role models making healthy eating habits. This can increase the child’s desire to want healthier foods and decrease the child’s chances of developing future health complications
Introduction to food. “ Impact of a “vegetables first” approach to complementary feeding on later intake and liking of vegetables in infants: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial” is a study that was done to show that children practice behaviors later on in life that they learnt at an early stage in their life. The goal was to show that children should be fed leafy green vegetables as their first foods instead of bottled baby foods that contain sugar and starch. According to this article, children are encouraged to eat more fruits and veggies, but some children struggle to eat their fruits and veggies. This is why this article recommends that parents should feed their children vegetables as their first foods because it can promote healthier eating habits. “Starting complementary feeding with vegetables, but not with fruits, may promote vegetable acceptance and that liking correlated positively with intake.”(Rapson, J.P., von Hurst, P.R., Hetherington, M.M. et al. ) The leafy green vegetables are recommended for daily
consumption as a healthy meal choice. According to the author, “Introducing vegetables at the beginning of complementary feeding may be a promising strategy to promote vegetable intake in children, both immediately and later in life.” The article was good for motivating parents to make smart food choices for their children, but more research is needed because there were no significant findings showing the impact it has on the child’s health. Specimens were collected from each child participant to assess and record their health status. However, the article did not connect the results of veggies as first foods to the health benefits of good childhood nutrition and future health outcomes. However, this study supports the previous article because it highlighted the importance of the parents’ role in providing their children with healthier foods. Also, it is more likely that a child would enjoy eating healthy if it is practiced at an early age and introduced by the parents.
Socioeconomic status affects childhood nutrition. “Family correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption in children and adolescents: a systematic review” discusses the environment of the child and the effects it has on the child’s diet. Parents have the biggest responsibility to feed their child or children the proper nutritional meals. However, the socioeconomic status of that family sometimes determines how well the family eats. The author was not speaking solely about money, but also background, education, neighborhood and family values. “There is convincing evidence that the family environment is important in influencing the dietary behaviours of young people.”(Pearson, Natalie, et al.) Just like the healthy boat program article, parents model the behavior and the chances increase for the child to have better eating habits. This article also supports the roles and responsibilities for parents in regards to their children’s diet and health. “Parents believed eating with their children was important in order to model
eating behaviours and also that making food available was likely to influence child’s food consumption.”(Pearson, Natalie, et al. ) The physical factors, sociocultural factors and demographic factors were used to evaluate the correlates of fruits and vegetables intake for children and adolescents. In some studies income levels were shown to have an effect on the amount of fruits and vegetables families have access. Education status was also shown to have an effect on healthier food choices. The parenting style, whether strict or passive, was also a factor used to determine access and intake of fruits and vegetables.
CONCLUSION
So, how does childhood nutrition affect future health outcomes? According to the articles used in this essay, good childhood nutrition has a positive effect on future health conditions. The foods that people eat are supposed to provide the body with vitamins, minerals and nutrients needed to sustain good health. Then why should people only become health conscious as adults? The idea is to implement and encourage a positive healthy diet in children. The chances increase for that child to continue making healthy food choices as adults to maintain a good health status. All the articles support the idea of children eating more fruits and vegetables daily. The articles also agree that parents have an important role in their children’s diet. The socioeconomic status of a person does affect the diet for the family, especially the children. The realization of socioeconomic status effect on childhood nutrition can be improved with the choices parents make and the environment of the child. It would be amazing to end childhood hunger across the world. However, in the United States of America there are still too many families living in a food shortage crisis. There are still parents who are not concerned about their child’s nutrition and how it connects to their overall health. There is
a need for more outreach programs and public health officials to assist families across the U.S. Using the right medium, the goal of the outreach should be to educate and motivate the parents and children on the connections between childhood nutrition and their future health. The articles didn’t elaborate on the associations between childhood nutrition and future health outcomes, but they certainly share an interest in the importance of fruits and vegetables intake in children’s diet.
Works Cited
Rapson, J.P., von Hurst, P.R., Hetherington, M.M. et al. Impact of a “vegetables first” approach to complementary feeding on later intake and liking of vegetables in infants: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 22, 488 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-021-05374-7
Pearson, Natalie, et al. “Family Correlates of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Children and Adolescents: a Systematic Review.” Public Health Nutrition, vol. 12, no. 2, 2009, pp. 267–283., doi:10.1017/S1368980008002589.
Möhler R, Wartha O, Steinacker JM, Szagun B, Kobel S. Parental Self-Efficacy as a Predictor of Children’s Nutrition and the Potential Mediator Effect between the Health Promotion Program “Join the Healthy Boat” and Children’s Nutrition. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020 Dec;17(24). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17249463. PMID: 33348737; PMCID: PMC7766743.
