“Good Nutrition is a foundation of a child’s survival, health, and development.”
What are your insights on this quote?
I absolutely agree that good nutrition is the bedrock of child survival and development. Good nutrition is crucial in this stage of development as it does not only serve as the foundation of an optimal and healthy physical development, it also sets the foundation for one’s intellectual capacity. According to UNICEF (n.d.), children who are well-nourished are better able to grow, learn, play, and engage in their communities. They also tend to become more resilient in the face of adversity.
Good nutrition is especially paramount in the first 1000 days of life, a unique period of opportunity when the foundations of optimum health, growth, and neurodevelopment across the lifespan are established. The first 1000 days of life are considered sensitive periods of brain development, thus harboring the greatest opportunity to provide optimal nutrition as means of ensuring normal development. At the same time, however, this period is also the time of greatest brain vulnerability to any nutrient deficit.
Unfortunately, over 200 million children living in developing countries including the Philippines fail to meet their nutritional requirements as associated with poverty, thus leading to substantial loss of developmental and neurodevelopmental potential, and more significantly, morbidity and mortality. In the Philippines alone, high rates of malnutrition during the first 1000 days of life are evident in its most visible forms, with more than 300,000 children under 5 years who are severely wasted, and an estimated 4.2 million children who are stunted and will likely suffer from its lifelong consequences on their cognitive and intellectual capacities.
It is truly saddening that millions of children worldwide and in the Philippines suffer from the consequences of inadequate nutrition and are unable to achieve optimal development. As a student nurse, I believe that aside from spreading awareness about the importance of good nutrition, it is also important to advocate for programs supporting such causes regarding nutrition.
Indeed, good nutrition in the first 1000 days of life is pivotal to achieving optimal health and ensuring that the child can achieve his/her maximum potential in many aspects of his/her life.
References:
Cusick, S., & Georgieff, M. K. (2013). The first 1,000 days of life: The brain’s window of opportunity. UNICEF-IRC. Retrieved from https://www.unicef-irc.org/article/958-the-first-1000-days-of-life-the-brains-window-of-opportunity.html
DOH. (2018, December 29). First 1,000 days law – The best Christmas gift of Duterte administration to Filipino mothers and their children. DOH.gov.ph. https://doh.gov.ph/node/16268
UNICEF. (n.d.). Nutrition. Unicef.Org. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/nutrition