Discuss why nutrition is a central component in health promotion. What are some of the nutritional challenges for emerging populations? What roles do nutritional deficiency and nutritional excess play in disease?
Nutrition
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Nutrition
Why nutrition is a central component in health promotion
Nutrition is a key component of a person’s overall health and well-being. Proper nutrition contributes largely to improving maternal, child, and infant health, safe pregnancy and childbirth, the development of a stronger immune system, and so on (ODPHP, 2020). Additionally, it lowers the risks of non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes, improves energy levels and moods, enhances longevity and quick learning in children. To reap all these benefits, people must practice nutrition because not only one food type confers all the benefits (ODPHP, 2020).
Nutritional Challenges for Emerging Populations
Nutrition is faced with some challenges. For example, there is a high availability of low-cost food and beverages with high content of sugar, salt, fat, and calories (Biron, 2021). People find it hard to access, understand, and apply nutritional information and requirement. Additionally, some segments of the population cannot access nutritious foods because of some limitations like resources (Biron, 2021). Natural calamities, such as droughts, floods, earthquakes, and so on, also disrupt the food supply.
Effects of nutritional deficiency and nutritional excess in diseases
Nutritional deficiencies and excesses have negative impacts on people’s health. They are known causes of nutritional diseases such as marasmus, kwashiorkor, rickets, and so on, and also diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, scurvy, osteoporosis, or obesity (ScienceDaily, 2021). They as also associated with behavioral and psychological problems. Without a proper balance of the nutritional requirements, the symptoms of some diseases that are often preventable can easily become pronounced (ScienceDaily, 2021). Moreover, nutritional excess can lead to excessive ingestion of elements, such as dioxins, PCBs, mercury, and lead that have no apparent roles in people’s health, but can lead to intoxication and lethal effects in the body (ScienceDaily, 2021).
References
Biron. (2021). The Challenges of Healthy nutrition. https://www.biron.com/en/education-center/neat-little-guide/nutrition/
ODPHP. (2020). Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/leading-health-indicators/2020-lhi-topics/Nutrition-Physical-Activity-and-Obesity
ScienceDaily. (2021). Nutrition. https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/nutrition.htm