Extreme Health Disparity Essay Example
Extreme Health Disparity Essay Example

Extreme Health Disparity Essay Example

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  • Pages: 5 (1313 words)
  • Published: May 8, 2022
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Nutrition is a main necessity for all human beings, but infants and young children depend on this factor due to different possible effects that may occur if they fail to receive these nutrients. Good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle which tends to begin through the transformation from infants, toddlers and young children. In references to infants and young children, nutritions allows growth, each and everyday out the wound infants tend to grow and build their strength due to nutrition. It also allows them to maintain good health, good nutrition will reduce the risk of some diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, some cancers and osteoporosis. Secondly, as infants and young children gain more nutrition their body will allow them to develop to their full potential by engaging in activities physically, emotionally and mentally while adapting

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to their environment.

However, the lack of nutrition can lead to numerous issues raised worldwide that are typically seen in low-income households. The infants and young children in these households are shown to lack nutrients due to the prices of food, formula and/or medicine, proper resources like clothing, blankets, diapers and etc. Due to these shortages of supplies, the number of infants and young children in these households will become ill/sick. To address this problem in the United States, WIC (Women, Infants & Children) was formed for low-income families to have access to healthy supplement foods, health care referrals, nutrition education, peer counseling for pregnant women and prenatal care. This program aimed to help families of infants and young children to experience increase in growth, decrease incidence of illness, short term cognitive benefits and long term

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academic benefits. The thought of seeing a mistreated is much more than just physical damage.

Yes, you are able to see when a child isn’t fed correctly i.e, you can see their rib cage, they look tired in the face, or they are very sluggish and slow. When your body is low in vitamins, nutrients and minerals, your body will suffer from the effects of malnutrition. There is an issue with world hunger and a pretty big percentage of world hunger is filled by children under the age of 5. Infants' emotional and personal states can be altered because of the lack of proper nutrition in a low income household. Research has shown developmental emotional issues which are associated with some nutritional imbalances related to Autism (a developmental disorder dealing in difficulty with social interaction), Hyperactivity (occurs when a child has too much sugar or high energy foods in their system), Depression (when kids feel sad, down, or irritated for an extended period of time), Schizophrenia (a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception and difficult behavior), Bipolar Disorder (alternating periods of elation and depression) and Anxiety (a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease) Infants can also develop low energy spells. Lack of nutrition is extremely important to avoid because it affects each part of our developing bodies, and is most detrimental to infants and young children.

Nourishment also plays a significant job in pregnancy and earliest stages as these are the basic times of brain function arrangement that will fill in as an establishment for the improvement of psychological, and socioemotional aptitudes all through life. During these ages we should

receive as many nutrients as required, because going without, does have an effect on our cognitive, physical and socioemotional development. Severe ; lengthy nutrition is detrimental to cognitive development.The impacts of most supplement deficiencies rely upon the degree and length of the shortage. For example, if a three year old is supposed to have a daily intake of three servings of vegetables and only has one per day, it wouldn’t be as detrimental to a two year old that needs four servings of vegetables per day and only receives one serving. In other words, when our brain isn’t receiving the key nutrients that we need it impacts the first years of life which is critical to a person’s learning and development.

Another example would be working an eight hour shift or taking the SAT exam without eating something. It will affect your ability to perform well and can lead to stress, headaches, chills and or dizziness. While reading our textbook, “Abnormal Psychology”, I came across a study that illustrated how attention and memory tests were performed more poorly by children who were malnourished versus those that weren’t. This study was conducted with Asian Indian children, and it continues to show that third world countries have an extreme health disparity when it comes to world hunger.

It is vital that we eat about three meals daily and or snack in between our busy days. This will lead to better cognitive and physical development. The amount of money a person has, tends to have a direct impact on the food they eat. This type of food choice is not only based on economic conditions, but also its availability and

convenience. Many choices, based on factors like these, lack many nutritional benefits our bodies need to grow and develop. Since nutrition has a direct impact on how our bodies grow and function, lack of proper nutrition will have a negative effect on physical growth and development.

Due to certain economic conditions, many low income families are unable to get the proper nutrients the body needs to grow but what impact does it have on developing infants and children? In 2016 alone, 40.6 million Americans lived in poverty, this included 18% of the children in the U.S. Majority of these children did not get the nutrition they needed and because of this many of them are at risk for many potential physical problems such as certain birth outcomes in infants. Examples of these birth outcomes include birth defects (heart disease) and low birth weight, which will consequently have a negative impact on the developing child. Low nutrition in a maturing child can lead to low growth, weight, height, and functional health. This can lead to a child falling behind physically with children of the same age and/or gender.

Another consequence of low nutrition is overweight/obesity. This typically occurs due to over eating of unhealthy foods because the child's body doesn’t feel adequate due to lacking certain nutrients and also causes a number of health consequences in later development. Lack of nutrition due to certain economic conditions put children and infants at risk for many physical problems that can have a negative impact on their future development. To improve the nutrition of these kids, scientists have been researching ways they could help, for example, some minerals such as calcium,

have proved to be extremely important for emotional development. It helps with hormonal balance and strong development of the nervous system.

Researchers also have found that interventions can benefit individuals who have experienced malnutrition in infancy. Standard nutritional care combined with a psychosocial intervention (group meetings with mothers and play sessions with infants, as well as six months of home visits) reduced the negative effects of malnutrition on severely malnourished 6- to 24-month-olds’ cognitive development. Also, exposing children to a wide variety of foods and healthier diet early on can influence their food habits for the rest of their lives. There is also a concept that many families with low income use in their homes, they only go to fast food restaurants on an occasional basis which saves money and teaches their children how to save as well. Not going out to eat so often reduces the childs’ chances of eating unhealthy foods.

They also make cooking at home a mainstream routine. They buy groceries that last them a longer period of time and they make meals that will be good for a few days saving that money they would usually use to go out and eat.

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