Nutrition Supplementation and Lifestyle - Case Study Example

Social cognitive theory in Nutrition intervention among preschool going children Introduction Over the recent past, people from all corners of the world have been combating nutritional related diseases. Due to poor eating habits, medical conditions and diseases such as obesity, overweight, and diabetes have been on the increases. The productivity of a population depends on its nutritional status. Therefore, it is important to ensure that young children get the appropriate nutrition as it will determine their level of productivity and overall health in future. It is of significance to ensure constant, fast, and appropriate growth and development in children and this can only be achieved through proper nutrition. This paper is an elucidation of a dietary intervention plan for children through increasing their food varieties. Social cognitive theory The social cognitive theory has been widely used in health communication. Contento (2010) posits that this theory is associated with rational thinking or perceptions, expressive facets, and also other facets of behaviour aimed at comprehending alteration of behaviours. According to this theory, there are three factors namely environment, human beings, and behaviour. These factors affect or impact on each other. The scope of application of this theory comprises of health education plans of actions, as well as other strategies aimed at elevating nutritional status of children. Elevating nutritional status through increasing the varieties of foods accessible for children encompasses change of certain behaviours, personal perceptions, as well as environmental issues. Personal perceptions would involve individual perceptions regarding breastfeeding. Environmental factors for consideration involve factors that offer prospects and chances for collective sustenance or upkeep. These include domestication of animals to be used as food sources, and growing or farming of traditional vegetables and other food crops with high nutritional value. Rationale for intervention One of the techniques that can be adopted to ensure children benefit from the food they eat is increasing their food varieties. In some parts of the world especially in the developing countries particularly in Africa, a great proportion of young children rarely get their daily nutritional requirements. Nutritionally speaking, food variety denotes the diversity and variations of food stuffs transversely in all five commonly recognised food groups. This ought to be in correct and globally endorsed and commended levels. Therefore, ensuring children diversify their diet is of significance as it assists and supports them in sustaining a vigorous as well as a fascinating or remarkable regime or nutrition, and at the same time avails a range of regimen to the body of the child. Subsequently, this would help prevent common health conditions among children such as kwashiorkor and marasmus (Lawrence, 2013). Other diseases or medical conditions that can be prevented through increasing food varieties in children include cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. According to Lawrence (2013), food fortification can also be used as a rationale for increasing food variety. Food fortification is referred to as the process through which vital or indispensable vitamins and minerals are incorporated in certain foods in a bid to elevate their level of nutrients. Some of the mineral that are added include iron, vitamin A, iodine, and folic acid. The role of food fortification in children’s diet is to help prevent and manage micronutrient malnutrition. According to the WHO, the most prevalent micronutrient malnutrition includes vitamin A, iron, and iodine deficiencies. Methodical investigations conducted by the WHO posits that at least a third of the world’s inhabitants. Results from these investigations have also indicated that more than two billion individuals are anaemic, and close to two billion people individuals have iodine deficiency. Two hundred and fifty four million infant have been proved to suffer from vitamin A deficiency. This clearly shows the rational for intervention through increasing food varieties in order to combat and prevent micronutrient deficiencies. Intervention plan It is necessary to involve all stakeholders within the society to ensure variety of children’s foods is increased. According to Brown (2008), much as the range of foods for children ought to be elevated, it is also of significance to ensure that quantity is also improved. Interventions therefore require the institution and adoption of appropriate strategies or plans of actions that are aimed at elevating the obtainability, accessibility, and intake of a variety of food rich in micronutrients and in the acceptable and sufficient levels. Some micronutrients are considered to be fat soluble hence appropriate levels of fats and oils ought to be consumed by children geared towards augmenting or boosting the assimilation of the inadequate amounts of micronutrients. Increasing the variety of foods among children is considered the ideal and most desired method of elevating the nutritional status of children as it has the ability to enhance the consumption and assimilation of not only micronutrients, but also other food groups such as proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins at the same time. All foods prepared for children must have a variety of micronutrients as they have been proved to avail a broad assortment or array of antioxidants and probiotic elements that helps the body to fight certain transmissible or contagious ailments. These are also important as they improve or boost the ability of the body to fight infections. Plans of action to educate the public on the importance of food diversity and encourage people to change their food consumption behaviours. In the modern world, certain foods particularly what is referred to as fast foods have increased the probability of children to suffer from certain medical conditions such obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Creation of awareness among parents and guardians is of significance as it will ensure change of behaviours such as consumption of unhealthy foods. Creating awareness on the importance of food diversity is important as parents will be in a position to select foods with higher or elevated nutritional value for consumption by children. There are some traditional food preparation methods that destroy or denature certain important nutrients in food for children. Adoption of appropriate and effective food preparation methods therefore ought to be adopted in a bid to ensure food prepared for children has the highest levels of nutrients possible. For instance, some vitamins are soluble in water while others are soluble in fats (Heshmat, 2011). Therefore adding some water and fat in foods will ensure all available nutrients in food benefits the child. Adoption of animal rearing habits to be used for food will ensure that children get vital nutrients only available in meat such as animal proteins. Laying appropriate strategies and plans of action that will ensure the taming of wild animals and enhancing agriculture whereby conventional crops particularly vegetables rich in nutrients are grown. This is attributed to the fact that majority of families in the developing countries are poor. Encouraging people to grow local and readily available crops with high nutritional values will ensure that children get the appropriate nutrients in their diet necessary for normal growth and development (White, 2006). Studies conducted in the past have elucidated the fact that breast milk is the best method or technique that can be used to avoid micronutrient deficiencies among children. Therefore, children get the appropriate and vital nutrients through breastfeeding in their first year of development. Educating and creating awareness on the importance or significance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of the child development is of significance. This is because breast milk has a lot of advantages among them being to fight and prevent common illnesses among children. Breast milk has also been proved to contain all the necessary nutrients for the growth and development of infants. Therefore, exclusive breastfeeding is of significance. Other than the wellbeing off the child, stimulating, encouraging, and supporting the intake off nutritious foods for the nursing mothers is of significance as this will ensure sufficient and ample amounts of micronutrients are produced in breast milk hence benefit the child. The introduction of supplementary foods is done after six months of exclusive breastfeeding. Foods introduced to these infants should therefore be as varied as probable (Walker, 2010). Food fortification is done to certain food products such as salts as it is obvious salt has to be used in food preparation. The individuals involved in food fortification processes and the government ass well should ensure that food fortification is conducted in such a way that does not impact on the overall constituents of the food (Preedy, 2013). Supplementation is also a technique that can be used as a means to increase the variety of nutrients in children’s diet. Supplements are mostly in tablet form, or even in liquid form. These have been in the past used by individuals in the developed nations in an effort to meet their daily dietary requirements for each of the vital nutrients for normal growth and development. In preschool going children, supplementation is considered the quickest method through which the body receives the ideal quantity of particular nutrients. Supplementation is also a technique that can be used to manage and regulate insufficiency or shortage among children recognised as lacking the ideal levels of particular nutrients. For preschool going children, supplementing their diet with vitamin A has been proved through methodical investigations to elevate or boost vitamin A supplies in the body by four to six months. It is necessary for parents, guardians, as well as other family members to ensure that the child takes the right amounts off supplements according to the directions given by nutritionists or other medical practitioners. In areas where a large proportion of preschool children have been identified to be deficient of vital nutrients, it is important to establish and as well implement plans of action to ensure relentless supply of supplements and strategies to ensure amenability to take these supplements (Caballero, 2009). In doing so, locally unavailable nutrients are supplemented with the use of industrially manufactured tablets. The environment within the contemporary settings plays a huge role in the nutritional status and also the nutrient variety of the food children consume. According to St-Onge, Keller and Heymsfield (2003), a number of experts have in the past investigated the tendency or style of food intake among children via conducting assessments and appraisals. Assessments conducted in 1970s, 80s, and 90s showed a reduction of the total amounts of energy gotten from food eaten at homes and at the same time elucidated a significant elevation in the level of energy gotten from food consumed in hotels and other food outlets. Due to the ever rising inflation rates, eating food in restaurants has become expensive. It is important to implement plans of action especially those associated with nutrition education in order to ensure that foods prepared at home are balanced. This will ensure children receive the appropriate levels of nutrients at home. In the contemporary world, most mothers are employed and hence have to leave their child under the care of a house help or under child care services. These individuals and institutions ought to be trained on methods of food preparation and offer them knowledge on how to select nutritious foods with varieties of nutrients for consumption by these children. Furthermore, the consumption of fast foods has been increasing in many parts of the world. Fast foods are the favourite foods for many children. Strategies can be put into place to ensure that children get a variety of nutrients from different foods and at the same time enjoy their favourite meal or food stuff. For instance, parents and guardians can ensure that a child takes a fruit and some vegetable to accompany fast foods. In such a way, a variety of nutrients are provided for the child (Heshmat, 2010). The availability of a variety of foods for children can be assessed through determining the nutritional status of children in a particular region. Determining the BMI of such children will help nutritionists and other medical practitioners identify areas that require further interventions in terms of implementing novel plans of actions and strategies to improve nutritional status. Conducting surveys on the types of crops and animals reared in a particular area or region will help identify the range of food varieties that can be consumed by children. Conclusion Social cognitive theory is a theory associated with personal perceptions, behaviour, as well as the environment in general. This theory can be incorporated in changing people’s behaviour in a bid to ensure that young children especially the preschool get their daily dietary requirements. This can be done through ensuring that food varieties for children are increased. Growing traditional crops and vegetables known to be rich in nutrients with ensure that foods prepared for children has a variety of nutrients to meet all dietary requirements. Educating lactating mothers on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and also continued breastfeeding even after complementary feeding is of significance as the child is able to get a variety of nutrients from breast milk necessary for normal growth and development. Other strategies for intervention include food fortification whereby vital micronutrients are added into food products. This also increases the variety of foods for consumption by children. Supplementation is also of significance. This provides micronutrients particularly vitamin A for children in the form of tablets or syrup. This can be used in areas where children are identified to have a deficiency in micronutrient levels. In cases where children would opt to consume fast foods, it is important for the parent to ensure the child takes a fruit or vegetables as this increases the variety of foods for the child hence improving nutritional status. References Brown, J. E. (2008). Nutrition through the Life cycle. London: Thomson Learning. Caballero, B. (2009). Guide to Nutritional Supplements. Oxford: Elsevier. Contento, I. (2010). Nutrition Education: Linking Research, Theory, and Practice. London: Jones and Bartlett Learning. Heshmat, S. (2011). Eating Behavior and Obesity: Behavioral Economics Strategies. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Lawrence, M. (2013). Food Fortification: The Evidence, Ethics, and Politics of Adding Nutrients to food. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Preedy, V. R. (2013). Handbook of Food Fortification and Health: New York: Springer Publishing Company. St-Onge, M., Keller, K. L., & Heymsfield. (2003). Changes in childhood food consumption patterns: A case for concern in light of increasing body weights: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Bethesda: American Society for Nutrition. Walker, M. (2010). Breastfeeding Management for the Clinician: Using the Evidence. London: Jones and Bartlett Learning. White, T. M. (2006). Food Variety and Energy Intake in Siblings Discordant for Adiposity. Ann Arbor: ProQuest Information and Learning Company. World Health Organization. (n.d). The role of food fortification in the control of micronutrient malnutrition. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/micronutrients/GFF_Part_1_en.pdf Read More