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Nutrition impacts on child development
Malnutrition in human development
Research paper on malnutrition and child development
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Although the Indigenous population makes up about 49% of the total Guatemalan population, they are almost entirely cut off from adequate access to food. Residing in the western highlands of Guatemala, the lack of access to public services is mainly due to remoteness and overall poor infrastructure in these rural areas. Areas like Totonicapán, San Marcos, Huehuetenango, and Quetzaltenango are just some of the areas that suffer from this extreme poverty and exemplify the poor systems in rural areas. Most conditions and illnesses are left untreated, leading to a myriad of health issues within the community that need to be addressed and prevented. Malnutrition causes other conditions such as diarrhea, stunting, anemia, and vitamin deficiencies. …show more content…
In 2004, malnutrition cost the country $3.1 million in lost productivity, which is 11.4% of total GDP. Children who are undernourished at a young age are at a high risk for poor cognitive development, adversely affecting Guatemala’s productivity and growth in the future. Childhood anemia is also associated with a 2.5% drop in adult wages and the Latin America region loses millions of dollars a year to chronic disease as well. Improving the health care and well being of more Guatemalans, improving their ability to work, will allow more money flow throughout the economy to benefit …show more content…
Rural households are not adept to providing a proper infant death and infants are often fed the same diet as the adults in the family. This average diet, a maize and bean based diet, lacks nutrients essential for infants. Including home gardens, agriculture, and livestock can greatly improve nutritional standings of children, and subsequently others in the household. Educating and training women to manage gardens and breastfeed will increase infant nutrient and vitamin levels as well as improving diet
Food insecurity is one of the major social problems that we have in our world today. The concern about this problem is the increasing number of people that are beginning to experience hunger more often. “While hunger has long been a public health concern in developing countries, it has received varying degrees of attention in the United States, most notable during the 1930s and 1960s” (Poppendieck 1992). In addition to lack of food, there are consequences that follow. People, especially children, who suffer from food deprivation also undergo some health issues such as malnutrition and obesity, which leads to more health care and hospitalizations. “In the early 1980s, most reports of hunger involved families with children, the elderly, the unskilled and unemployed youth, the mentally ill, the homeless and minorities” (Brown 1992; Nestle and Guttmacher 1992). However, a particular ethnic group that is greatly affected by food insecurities are the Hispanic...
Wyatt, C. Jane, and M.A. Triana Tejas. "Nutrient Intake and Growth of Preschool Children from Different Socioeconomic Regions in the City of Oaxaca, México." Nutrition And Metabolism. 44. (2000): n. page. Print.
The richest 20% in the world gorge themselves on over 70% of the world’s resources while continuing to exploit the poorest, who are forced to live in desolate poverty. Guatemala is no exception to this, as over 50% of their population live under the poverty line. With a population of around fifteen million people, Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America, but is also one of the poorest. Guatemala’s extreme impoverishment is because of the struggle between the poor mixed-blood natives and the rich Spanish descendants who run the country, the interference of other countries and the extortion of the country with deceitful loans and conditions by the World Bank and other associations.
Guatemala is a very impoverished country. They have a per capital of what amounts to $5300.00 in US dollars. This is believed to be because of lack of education, lack of infrastructure and transportation. Their economy is very dependent on the exports of coffee, bananas, and clothing. The workers are often left to resort to employment with low paying wages and work extremely long hours. Which include working on coffee bean farms and sugar plantations. Many people often opt to move to the cities for jobs. Edgar Mary(2006). Guatemala question and answer book. Capstone Press. Mankato, Minnesota.
World hunger is a very important epidemic because of the risks or implications it imposes on the rest of the world. Juveniles are the utmost apparent victims of under-nutrition. 2.6 million children die as a result of hunger-related causes each year. 66 million school-aged children go to classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone. One in four of the world's youth are kept from growing due to malnutrition. In developing countries the proportion can rise to one in three. A strong maternal-infant bond provided through psychosocial stimulation is essential for positive child development. The formation of this bond at the beginning of life is an essential step that sets the stage for cognitive,emotional, and social development later in life. Feeding and other care practices provide opportunities for psychosocial stimulation and help to establish a positive attachment between caregiver and child.(WHO) Under-nutrition magnifies the effect of every disease, such as measles,diarrhea and malaria. Asia has the largest number of hungry people (over 500 million) however S...
The Republic of Guatemala has an inconsistent supply of clean water. Although 94% of people have access to water, the other 6% are totally deprived of this resource (xxii). In addition, 51% of its people live in poverty (xxii). The National Water Commission holds the authority over the nation’s water and its regulation, as well as sets the National Water Law (xxiii). Since the nation is unequally populated, the supply of water may be insufficient in some areas. Citizens that live in the “dry corridors”, where common droughts cause infertile and dry soil, suffer from malnutrition (xxiv). The Coffee Crisis has also been a big problem to the families; the coffee crop yield dramatically dropped in 2012 and has been declining ever since (xxv). These families have switched from planting coffee beans to bananas which sells for a much lower price (xxv). Because of this, they are unable to afford their children’s education, food or water. Fortunately, the government of Guatemala and the World Food Program offers families food in exchange for their share of work on community projects (xxv). Some areas are also vulnerable to disasters such as hurricanes and floods that can ruin their yearly income in a matter of minutes (xxiv). Due to the nation’s economic crisis, the government has no choice but to reduce foreign investments and take away their citizens’ access to credit as well as lessen the budget for seeds and fertilizers (xxiv). The Government of Guatemala launched the “Mi Comidita”, a food supplement program, in 2014 to focus on eradicating child malnutrition (xxvi). The Government of Canada had donated $2 million to the cause (xxvi). The ‘Guatemalan Maize Alliance Against Hunger” Programme was also launched to reduce malnutrition by ...
Hunger is a result of poverty, as well as poverty being a result of hunger. Hunger causes the body’s radius to decrease in addition to a person’s level of energy and mental functions. An adult’s hunger struggle could seriously affect their labor abilities and could eventually lead to unemployment. Unemployment and low incomes are the all time leading causes of childhood hunger. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life?” (Child Hunger Fact Sheet).
Research indicates that “the specification of fetal brain areas affected by prenatal exposure to nonoptimal maternal distress and nutrition, will, in part, identify developmental processes, such as synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, and dendritic arborization, as vulnerable to the influences of these two maternal factors” (Monk, Georgieff, & Osterholm, 2013). Interestingly, the vitamins and nutrients a mother eats herself provides her child with vitamins and nutrients. Psychologist Martha May Reynolds wrote, “The science of nutrition has made careful studies of food requirements during pregnancy, and the results are now available to practically all mothers-to-be. Calcium is especially important in the formation of the child 's bones and teeth, and other minerals, vitamins and proteins play their parts in nourishing the developing embryo. The present and future health of both child and mother depend on a well-balanced diet for the mother” (Reynolds, 1939). Seemingly insignificant and something people take for granted, eating healthy foods is essential to the present and future health of the
Before the earthquake happened, only about 40% of babies 0-6 months were strictly breastfed; others had some other partial diet (Basset, 2010). Nineteen percent of the deaths in children that were 5 years or younger could have been prevented if the mother had been properly educated with how to feed her child (Ayoya et al., 2013). Some mothers believed that the first milk was dirty, when in reality it’s extremely important for the baby to consume it. There were some cases where the baby was not able to get breast milk so instead they would provide formula in the tents and show how much the baby should be consuming. In Haiti, it is common for women to be anemic due to a deficiency of iron. Up to 30% of the women in Haiti are actually getting the proper amount of iron they need (Haiti: Nutrition Profile, 2014). That other 70% become anemic which can lead to complications for her baby if she is pregnant. In some of the baby tents, pregnant mothers would be provided iron and folate tablets to help prevent anemia and birth
Since individual production is restricted, many of the minor farm households including the rest of the population are net consumers of maize. The incomes are low due to the lack of unemployment as well as low wage rates. Whereas for safety, Malawians are under danger by getting HIV/AIDS, which is one of the main reasons of declination of incomes. "Improvement in child stunting suggests Malawi’s good (above regional average) access to water and sanitation is perhaps reducing the influence of disease on child stunting. But the high incidence of wasting and nutrition-related diseases are indicative of continuing problems with food availability and access to food." (Cromwell,
Some of these are known as Mayan according to Bogin. Those from San Pedro, Guatemala grew up with most of their waters contaminated with fertilizer and pesticides. Many children, both boys and girls, are iodine deficient and suffer from intestinal parasites, along with ear and eye infections. Compared to the kids born and living in the States whose average height increases over time, these children do not usually grow much. In schools here the kids are fed enough for their daily nutrient and vitamins and their health has improved. Mayan moms have seen a difference and notice their kids growing bigger and healthier than back home in
I believe that parents, caregivers, or anyone that has contact with a toddler should know about what nutrition they need and why local produce is better for the toddler. I choose toddler’s nutrition because in psychology class, we are studying their development, so something as simple as what fruits and vegetables they eat can affect all points throughout the toddler’s life. In addition, my sister is pregnant so as the aunt of the child, I feel I have the responsibility in helping my younger sister and teaching her nutrition for her baby. After researching, I know that feeding local produce to my niece or nephew when they become toddlers is vital and can, enhance their development. So let’s learn about toddle...
A child’s education during the ages of one to nine is very important to the child’s development and the future (McKenzie & Pinger, 2015, p.217). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccinating children against most vaccine-preventable diseases early in life. One of the community programs for Women, Infants and Children is the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, which is in charge with the responsibility for promoting and improving the health of our nations mothers and children. Another is the woman, infants and children program, which is a clinic-based program designed to provide a variety of nutritional health related goods and services to pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants up to one year and children under the age of five.
Food insecurity and poor nutrition is an alarmingly large problem for low income families, especially in developing countries. Many strategies exist to fight this problem, although not many of these address all the factors contributing to it along with all the possible solutions to solve it. In many cases, multiple strategies must correlate and work together so that all the determinants of this issue are addressed and can fight food insecurity from different angles. This essay will discuss the significance of the problem, a range of possible strategies to solve the problem, and go into detail on a select few that will correlate and work together to solve different factors of food insecurity and poor nutrition.
“Every hour of every day, 300 children die of malnutrition.” (more children going hunry) Even though there are many, many programs out there, still children are suffering immensely because of mallnutrition.“The report says 15 million more children are suffering from chronic malnutrition in Africa compared to 1990.” (African news service). That 's just in Africa imagine the numbers of children suffering around the world. “Malnutrition is attributed to a third of all child deaths worldwide, or 2.6 million per year.” (African news service). 2.6 million deaths per year and that 's just from mallnutrition.“Half of the world 's malnourished children live in five countries - Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, India and Bangladesh - where 50 per cent of all families have been forced to cut back on food.”(African news service).For you to grasp the whole impact of malnutrition you need the facts.”with over one billion children living in poverty, 400 million lacking clean drinking water, and 165 million under the age of 5 experiencing stunted growth because of malnutrition.” (Justin Turner) Along with malnutrition there is the fact of the effects on the child 's mental status. “Due to lack in resources, poor social and health related behaviors are common.”(children in poverty) these kids that go through this tend to have health concerns