To better understand where the country stands on healthy eating for children, Maverick Life spoke to various nutrition experts in South Africa, including the National Department of Health, about why this topic is essential and what should be done to ...
, nutritious diets build strong immune systems, fuel growing bodies and nourish developing brains. Enriched with the benefits of good nutrition, children are better able to enjoy healthy lives, learn, access opportunities and embark on a path to lifelong wellbeing and prosperity. Nutritious diets in early childhood, this research says, have the power to shape a healthier future – yet today millions of young children around the world are being fed to fail.
According to Grimbeek, it is incredibly concerning that this double burden of malnutrition can exist on a household level or in the same individual. She says it is often seen that a child that develops stunting in early childhood can grow up to become overweight and obese. “Furthermore, teenage girls are especially susceptible to obesity which can lead to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and some cancers in adulthood.
Like the other researchers in this article, the Department of Health agrees that good nutrition is the foundation of child survival, health and development, and that well-nourished children are better able to grow and learn to participate in and contribute to their communities.
A healthy eating plan contains a variety of safe foods consumed in sufficient quantities and quality to provide all the many different nutrients a child needs. “Different types of foods contain different types of nutrients. There is no single food that contains all the nutrients needed for the normal functioning of the body. It is for this reason that we have to eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients needed,” Mohale says.
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