World Health Day 2023: Youth With Nutritional Deficiency – Time Is Essence In Mitigating Eating Disorders

Nutritional Deficiency: According to a UNICEF report, titled-  ‘Adolescents, Diets and Nutrition: Growing Well in a Changing World’, issued on October 31 2019, in collaboration with NITI Aayog, almost all adolescents in India consume unhealthy or subpar diets, which causes one type of malnutrition or another among them. According to the survey, more than 50% of teenagers in India between the ages of 10 and 19 are underweight, overweight, or obese. This includes 63 million girls and 81 million males.

Also, it stated that more than 80% of teenagers have “hidden hunger,” or a lack of one or more micronutrients such as iron, folate, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12, and vitamin D.

In conversation with Zee English digital, Vani Krishna, Chief Nutritionist, at Manipal Hospital Varthur shared some ways in which Nutritional Problems in the young generation can be mitigated and dealt with.

Nutritional disorders are readily induced when a person’s diet lacks the correct quantity of nutrients for their body to operate. The nutrients found in food are broken down into macronutrients, such as carbohydrates, protein, and fat, and micronutrients, such as minerals and vitamins. 

Ms Vani mentions, “Any micronutrient deficiency results in anomalies in the body. Malnutrition is the most common kind of nutritional problem, which is defined as being underweight (BMI 18) or overweight (BMI >25kg/m2). Long-term nutrient shortage can result in structural and functional issues. Childhood age groups are characterised by undernutrition, whereas maturity is marked by obesity and overnutrition.”

How to manage the nutritional problems in the young generation

– Foods high in iron, such as red meat, dark green vegetables, and fruits, can help avoid anaemia. Foods high in vitamin C can improve the body’s ability to absorb iron. Iron supplements are necessary to reduce the incidence of iron deficiency anaemia.

– Deficiency of iodine in the diet can cause stillbirths, cognitive abnormalities, low energy levels in kids, and miscarriages. Iodized salt can be used to avoid iodine deficiencies.

– A diet high in colourful fruits and vegetables lowers the chance of developing vitamin A insufficiency, which is a significant cause of avoidable eye impairment in children. Dark greens, carrots, pumpkin, mangoes, papaya, and the consumption of animal products are just a few of the foods high in vitamin A.

– Protein-energy malnutrition is a chronic undernutrition that is widespread across the world. PEM may develop in kids who eat very little protein, energy, or both. The PEM kinds Marasmus and Kwashiokar are two. Protein and calorie deficiencies cause marasmus, a condition. supplementing the mother’s low-calorie, low-protein milk with early weaning. When a mother’s milk is substituted in a child’s diet for longer than a year, a protein shortage called Kwashiokar develops.

Ms Vani Krishna mentions that the second-highest percentage of obese toddlers is found in India. 14.4 million adolescents worldwide are obese. Children are 15% more likely than adults to be obese. Childhood obesity may lead to the adverse outcome of hypertension, diabetes, PCOD, liver disorder etc. Dietary management plays a vital role to prevent child obesity. Reduce the intake of processed foods and high-salt / sugary products. A balanced diet which includes whole cereals, vegetables, fruits, milk and milk products be included. Encourage physical activity like cycling, swimming, playing games etc which is quite alarming.

Impact of Nutritional deficiency

The dreadful impact of malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies extends to the nooks and crannies of society. The earning potential of today’s malnourished children as they mature into the working-age population of the future is affected, as is the level of national productivity as a whole. 

“Early intervention is required to reverse this pattern, beginning with a simplified system to improve food availability and quality. Although the issue is preventable, numerous steps may be taken to tackle it, especially on a grassroots level,” remarks Ms Vani Krishna.

Issues like nutritional deficiency and eating disorders are affecting the majority of the youth today thereby creating unhealthy working professionals and a malnourished society altogether. 

Henrietta H. Fore, former UNICEF Executive Director and public health and international development executive says, “We must take action where adolescent children spend most of their time — on school premises. For example, this means moving from a cereal-based mid-day meal in schools to more nutrient-dense meals. In addition to iron and folic acid supplementation, we need to do more to provide diets balanced with proteins and adequate calories.”

“As consumption of fruits and vegetables among adolescents remains poor, providing nutrition counselling for young people to make the right food choices is one critical step we can take. We also call for legislation to regulate the marketing of unhealthy foods in school premises — marketing that often leads young people into making poor food choices”.

This World Health Day let’s pledge to keep our bodies healthy by not skipping meals and attending to our overall health and well-being.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Zee News.)