Cause & Effect Essay

Poor Nutrition in Children

          For many parents, the daily struggle with their children begins at breakfast time and repeated at every meal. To ensure proper development and growth of a child is necessary to provide a healthy, balanced, varied and appropriate to their age and diet needs. Children who do not eat or just eat two or three different foods (generally, anything healthy) leaving out whole groups such as vegetables, fruits or fish. These children tend to be skinnier, which worries her parents but, what other consequences resulting from incomplete nutrition?

         A complete diet not only ensure their growth, but also their present and future health since the diet of the early years of life mark the metabolism of the child in the adult stage, and increase or decrease the chances of developing certain diseases. According Alfredo Mora (2003) “poor  nutrition of children during the first 3 years of life, but especially in the first year, where on average, children grow up to 25 centimeters can have serious consequences.” Effects of poor diet on children have been especially observed in cases of those children who ignore fresh vegetables and have good quantity of fats in their diet.

         According to Fleck, A. (2001)” Children affected by sustained poor nutrition are at greater risk for obesity, mental and emotional health problems, and a failure to thrive academically.” Without eating vegetables along with adequate protein, dairy, carbohydrates and good fats amounts, children can face a number of problems such as stunted growth, poor academic performance, susceptibility to disease and interrupted sleep patterns. Poor nutrition in childhood involves the risk of consequences that could for the rest of life or severe deficiencies can even cause death.

        According to Fleck, A. (2001) “Poor nutrition is reflected in the behavior of children. They may suffer from problems of attention deficiency or hyperactivity disorder”. Children tend to be become lethargic and very irritable if the diet does not have enough of daily requirements of fat, proteins and carbohydrates. Mental development often slows down with poor dietary patterns. This is not noticed early but with symptoms like delayed speech, delayed coordination and slow learning patterns parents start realizing the problem of the child.

         According to Martinez, J. “Children who have poor eating habits suffer from problems like lack of concentration, problems related to lack of memory, poor cognitive skills and low levels of intelligence also.” Children tend to be become dull and slow in following instructions. Stunted growth is one of the major effects of poor diet. Even if there is an increase in height, there are problems of lack of proper development of several body organs which leads to other complexities. Liver, kidneys and even appetite does not develop with age.

         According to Indian Journal of Psychiatry “Skin rashes, allergy, frequent boils, itching and sensitive skin are all related to poor diet. Hair falls, dandruff problems, premature graying of hair and even baldness in severe cases are all related to poor diet.” Poor dental health is a common problem associated with poor eating patterns. The intake of more sugary and junk foods is the reason for mouth bacteria and also cavities. Soft drinks and other processed foods which have harmful dyes in them are responsible for teeth staining.

          This is one of the most common problems of poor diet. Weight gain at such a young age is the result of too much fats and sugar in the diet. This mainly comes from sweets, colas, chips and other types of junk food which are more of fat than other nutrients. Children should have a good feed from the first day of his life, an error like malnutrition can cause consequences that mark  their lives as living and conscious beings must take into account the growth process must be careful and taken care of all your needs .

Bibliography

Children´s Defense Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved June 26, 2016, from http://www.childrensdefense.org

Fleck, A. (n.d.). SFGATE. Retrieved Junio 24, 2016, from Healthy Eating: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/children-poor-nutrition-6555.html

Indian Journal of Psychiatry. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738337/

Ugarte, J. (n.d.). CRhoy.com. Retrieved June 26, 2016, from http://www.crhoy.com/problemas-de-talla-crecimiento-y-concentracion-consecuencias-de-mala-nutricion-en-ninos/