Nutrition is very important in preventing diseases. There has been an interest in nutrition among preschoolers. Today more children are being given better nutrition than in the years back. When children are protected from contracting diseases it ensures that they will be healthy and thus participate in the social and economic activities of their countries in the future. It is therefore very important to invest in a child’s health as early as possible in its life because this is both a legal and moral obligation to ensure that the child enjoys the highest possible health. Furthermore many diseases are preventable with the right nutrition. The saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away captures the importance of proper nutrition.
According to several studies done many non-communicable diseases have become very common in many countries. This change is attributed to a change in lifestyle where many people lead sedentary lifestyles and eat diets that are saturated with salt fats and sugar. Therefore many diseases like cancer and diabetes have caused many deaths among the populations. It is important to note that these changes that lead to these diseases are identified in early childhood. This is a result of poor nutrition during childhood. Most importantly is to ensure that there is proper nutrition in preschoolers (Caribbean Food & Nutrition, 2002:1).
Many children have been found to be obese or overweight. The global figures are alarming because it has been noted that adult obesity is linked with childhood obesity this means that obese children grow up and become obese adults. Obesity leads to diseases for example according to studies done in the United States 61% of obese children have cardiovascular risks and about 27% have diabetes mellitus which until recently was associated with adults. All this is due to poor nutrition. It is therefore important to give children proper diets when they are young. The parents or the guardians have an obligation of selecting proper foods to include in the meals they serve their young ones.
This is because what they feed their children determines their health. If obesity is avoided by limiting fast foods many diseases that show up in the future would be avoided. More importantly, the children should be encouraged to be physically active as opposed to watching television and playing video games throughout (Caribbean Food & Nutrition, 2002:1).
Nutrition at this preschool age is very important. It prevents diseases in the future for instance when children take adequate calcium they achieve maximum skeletal development and bone mineralization thus their risk of developing osteoporosis later in their adulthood is reduced. Those who fail to get the required amounts of calcium have a higher chance of developing the disease later in adulthood. This means that children should be served calcium-rich foods such as milk and dairy foods because they are rich sources of calcium (Wardlaw & Smith, 2008: 564-687).
When children are introduced to healthy foods at this early stage they learn how to eat healthy even when they grow up. This will ensure that the children eat properly, therefore, keeping diseases at bay. Parents should therefore be role models when it comes to proper nutrition. They should buy and eat healthy foods e.g. vegetables to encourage their children to feed on them. This is because children are more likely to follow what people they trust or like do. Therefore parents and child care providers should practice what they preach (McBean & Miller, 1999:563-571).
In conclusion, it should be noted that when children are given too much energy-rich food they end up becoming overweight and when given inadequate calcium they develop osteoporosis later in adulthood. Therefore proper dietary guidelines should be given to parents and caregivers. Nutrition messages should be tailored to suit children the focus should not be on dietary restrictions rather on healthy eating and physical activity. Eating should be made fun to encourage the young ones to eat and thus enhance their nutrition for better healthy futures. The importance of nutrition in early childhood cannot be overstated it is paramount.
References
McBean, D.L. & Miller, D.G. (1999). Enhancing the Nutrition of America’s Youth, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 18, No. 6, 563-571. Web.
The Caribbean Food & Nutrition Institute For Caucus of Ministers of Health (2002) Nutrition in Mental Health, Non-Communicable Diseases and HIV/AIDS. Web.
Wardlaw, G. & Smith A. (2009). Contemporary nutrition (7th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.