Child Development and Public Health

Good nutrition is essential to good health. This topic is very important to me because it is very important that our children eat healthy. Healthy eating can stabilize children's energy, sharpen their minds and even out their moods. While peer pressure and TV commercials for junk food can make getting kids to eat well seem impossible, there are steps parents can take to instill healthy eating habits in children. Fiber is an important nutrient that most children are not getting enough of each day. Parents should encourage healthy eating habits and play a key role in making healthy choices for children and teaching children to make healthy choices for themselves. Nutrition is very important for children because it is directly linked to all aspects of their growth and development, factor which will have direct ties to their level of health as adults. We need to instill proper nutrition trend in our children. Eating unhealthy as a child may bring on unhealthy eating habits as an adult, that may lead to health issue.
Malnutrition in South Africa is ranked 9th in the world for highest hunger levels. South Africa infants are born with low birth weight, and some suffer from wasting, which is a indicator of severe malnutrition. Children are severely under weight for their age and height. Certain factors, like low-protein diet or a reluctance to breastfeed, that make certain South African individuals more susceptible to malnutrition than other. Malnutrition can cause health problems like anemia and pellagra. Another main determinant of malnutrition is culture and lifestyle. Programs are in place to address this issue.