International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (2015) documents that some poorer societies and communities lack access to sufficient quantity or quality food as close to one billion people are facing challenges of not having enough food and two billion are suffering from micronutrient deficiencies. Dietary diversity has been defined as the number of different foods or food groups that are consumed over a specific reference period. According to Zainal-Badari et al. [2012] adequate nutrient intake necessary for good nutrition has often been associated with food variety and diet quality of individuals.
Under-nutrition during a mother’s pregnancy until a child is two years old can cause irreversible physical and cognitive deficits (SPRING,
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The vast majority of these people live in the developing countries. There is a growing consensus that increasing the dietary diversity (more food groups) can help improve diet quality, especially among women [Biodiversity International, 2014; Martin-Prével, 2014].
While enhanced agricultural productivity is an important development goal, merely producing more food, or improving market access to sell surpluses, does not automatically lead to food security or improved nutrition (Herforth et al., 2014). Recently, development agencies have focused on the lack of dietary diversity as a critical impediment to the reduction of the high rates of malnutrition in developing countries (Jones, Shrinivas, and Bezner-Kerr., 2014, Cordeiro et al. 2012).
Increased dietary diversity is thought to increase the probability of a healthier diet (Marshall, Burrows, and Collins 2014) and positive anthropometric outcomes, in Africa (Headey,
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In Kenya, malnutrition is indicated by stunting levels at 26% (KDHS, 2014).
1.2. Problem Statement
Despite the importance of dietary diversity being well acknowledged, there is paucity of scientific data in Kenya on dietary diversity, nutrient intake and nutritional status of pregnant women in Kiambu County.
Furthermore, as rightly noted by Kiboi et al. (2017), recommended that similar studies on dietary diversity, nutrient intake and nutritional status be done during other seasons so that it can better explain the true dietary diversity of the study population. He further noted, it would be prudent to conduct that in other counties in Kenya.
To address this gap, this study aimed at determining dietary diversity, nutrient intake and nutritional status among pregnant women in Kiambu County. Hidden hunger such as folate, zinc, iron, vitamin A, B6, B12, C, E and riboflavin deficiencies are highly prevalent and may occur concurrently among pregnant women. Further, micronutrient deficiencies are said to be widely spread among women and children in developing countries (Allen, 2014). This may be due to monotonous
Although the fact that an effort is being made to improve conditions for these people is enough to inspire hope for their future health, there is still much more that needs to be done. Whether revisions occur in the form of changes in policies, public awareness, or campaigning by stores to make healthy foods more financially appealing, something desperately needs to be done and soon. The people living in these food deserts have been forced into horrible dietary habits, and now once presented with the ability to change, are unsure of how to achieve this goal of change. It is the obligation of all the people to educate, and inspire others to reform their diets, and ultimately improve their own
In the article, “Escape from The Western Diet,” by Michael Pollan, who has also written many nutritional books, blames our unhealthy eating on the food industry. He argues that we should avoid any processed foods because of what they have become (424). Also, he claims that the American views for preparing a meal has downgraded over the years (425). His solution is to not overeat, but to eat plants instead because they are not as manipulated
They are ignorant of the livelihoods of sub-Saharan farmers, the production rate of producing food, and that simply many places are not applicable to farming. If one truly wants to eat healthier, they can try local farmer’s markets, but it is not possible to change the whole community to eat
On the other hand, malnutrition is shown to be declining (fig.1), yet; in under 5s it is still as high as 780 million (12.9%) globally- mainly found in LICs (fig.2) (WHO, 2017). Among adults (18+), more than 650 million (13%) were quantified as obese along with a verge of 2 billion (39%) overweight in 2016. Moreover, unlike children or young people, in adulthood the epidemic rate among sexes is slightly lower in men (11%) than women (15%)
World hunger has always been a problem that has plagued humanity, and through the years, it has remained an almost impossible problem to solve. However, industrialized agriculture has become a possible solution to world hunger with its ability to produce more food on less land than traditional methods. Industrialized agriculture is the solution Robert Paarlberg offers in his article, “Attention Whole Food Shoppers” which first appeared in April 2010 edition of Foreign Policy. Paarlberg attempts to use specific criteria to demonstrate the benefits of industrialized agriculture, such as its impacts on world hunger, the income gap, and global politics. Paarlberg was to an extent successful at proving his points and persuading his intended audience.
With obesity rates climbing to an all-time high, many people are faced with the question of food choice. Several debates surround the topic such as appropriate dieting and government intervention, but no clear solutions have been established. In the articles “Escape from the Western Diet” by Michael Pollan and “We Need to Eat Less Meat. Should the government step in?” by Laura Wellesley the issue of food choice and its consequences is examined.
In the world, there are one billion people undernourished and one and a half billion more people overweight. In this day and age, where food has become a means of profit rather than a means of keeping people thriving and healthy, Raj Patel took it upon himself to explore why our world has become the home of these two opposite extremes: the stuffed and the starved. He does so by travelling the world and investigating the mess that was created by the big men (corporate food companies) when they took power away from the little men (farmers and farm workers) in order to provide for everyone else (the consumers) as conveniently and profitably as possible. In his book Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, Patel reveals his findings and tries to reach out to people not just as readers, but also as consumers, in hopes of regaining control over the one thing that has brought us all down: the world food system.
Parizad Batty-Avari EYE11-4.1 Explain the impacts of poor diet on children's health and development Nutritious food is of paramount importance for a healthy mind and body. Childhood is a time of critical growth in which proper nutrition is absolutely necessary. Children who have poor diets either due of a lack of food or because of bad eating habits and patterns, leads to inadequate intake of nutrients and are prone to significant short-term and long-term health impacts and diseases. Short-term impact on children’s health:
Although food is available in the local markets persons especially the vulnerable are unable to purchase the basic food item. Due to the current economic crisis Jamaicans are experiencing some form of loss of income or income generation opportunities or employment are therefore lack the purchasing power needed to access healthy affordable food This lack of access to food can result in hunger (food deprivation), malnutrition (deficiencies, imbalances, or excesses of nutrients), and famine. Hunger has a negative impact on a person’s wellbeing as it reduces natural defences against diseases, which is the main risk factor for illness worldwide. In addition high food price is of utmost concern to
According to Northoff (2007), nutrition is critical for a healthy and active life, but many people around the world still have no access to sufficient and nutritious food because of poverty and lack of nutrition education. Moreover, Riddle (2005) stresses that nutrition education is a key for developing the skills and motivation needed to eat well, and is especially important in situations where families have limited resources. The benefits of nutrition education and counselling can directly influence nutritional status, consequently, helping in attaining the millennium development goal (MDG) to reduce the prevalence of hunger and malnutrition (Garcia, 2008). In a recent preliminary study conducted by ENDESA in 2007, the way in which the mother’s educational level influenced malnutrition was observed. Statistics reveal that 15.4 percent of children of mothers with no education suffered from chronic malnutrition, while 9.4 percent and 4.7 percent in children of mothers with secondary or higher education levels respectively (Acevedo & Menendez, 2006).
Thus, the causes of undernourishment and of death from hunger and malnutrition of children are immensely complex, and they cannot be simply attributed to war or natural catastrophes. They are primarily due
While the prevalence of malnutrition (height for age) in areas with an urban population share below 20% is 48.9%, this figure is only 25.3% in areas with an urban population share between 50% and 90%. The same trend is found with weight for age: while the rate is about 26.2% in areas with an urban population share below 20%, the figure is only 9.5% in areas where that share is between 50% and 90%. Differences between urban and rural areas in health care centres and access to health facilities explain the differences in life expectancy and childhood malnutrition. On average, only 46.2% of African children are taken to a health provider: only 41.7% in areas with an urban share less than 20% and 51.2% in areas with an urban share between 50% and 90%. Moreover, births attended by skilled staff are only 38.3% in areas with an urban population share below 20% and 78.0% in areas with that share between 50% and 90%.
4 New Reasons You Should Know Your Blood Type If you consider that knowing your blood group is irrelevant, reconsider! From what food to eat to which workout is the best for you, can be determined by your blood profile. Your blood group says a lot about you.
According to the royal society, between1930 and 2010 the world’s population grew from 2 billion to 6.8 billion ,so the Continuing population causes a consumption growth and that means the global demand will increase over the next years and growing competition for land, water and energy will increase too(Black, 2010). Growth of population will affect on some countries ability to produce food especially in the poor developing countries, so improved nutrition is central to improved income generation, poverty reduction, and provide a good food quality. Lack of food quality has an impact on mother’s nourishment because they are more likely to give a birth, so mothers which are malnourished later will give birth of babies with a less healthier, growth retardation are associated with reduced physical activity, impairment of