CHAPTER 1
Introduction
When it comes to living a healthy and long life and most importantly having a functional brain activity, nutrition is very essential. Nutrition, in common terms, can be referred to ways through which one obtains the food which is required for proper health and growth. For a child, it is very important that he/she eats the right food at the right time in order to obtain the necessary nutrients required for growth. Poor feeding or nutrition contributes greatly to diseases people face especially in children (Badri, 2014).
Nutrition is an important aspect in a child’s life. A child who is malnourished or does not feed well tends to be backwards when it comes interaction and learning. When a child eats properly, the nutrients obtained from that meal fosters a good and well balanced physical, social and mental state of mind and wellbeing hence leading to the child’s increase in self-esteem (Badri, 2014). Proper nutrition aids a child’s brain activities. A child who is malnourished at the age of 3 years will most likely exhibit a diminished mental state when compared with peers at age 11 (Florence, Asbridge, & Veugelers, 2008). Poor nutrition leads to an increase in levels of absenteeism in school. This is so because the body becomes really weak and its capacity to resist and combat diseases has been reduced. So due to this, children do not go to school or if they do, they have little to no interest in learning and participating in school tasks (Pertz & Putnam, 1982). According to the United Nation World Food Program (WFP), almost 60 million kids in developing nations go to school hungry every passing day and about 40% of
those kids are Africans (WFP, 2010). Poor nutrition in children leads situations like stunted growth, anemia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Vitamin A in Children
Vitamin A is one the key nutrients when it comes to a child’s growth and development. This nutrient is commonly found in foods like eggs, vegetables, milk, meat and also fruits. Vitamin A is important for vision and also brain development. It is very necessary for a child to eat foods containing vitamin A in order to avoid complications such as Vitamin A deficiency and also for that child to grow well both mentally and physically.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) as the called is caused by lack of vitamin A. According to UNICEF, preventable childhood blindness is mainly caused by VAD, as it is the leading factor. VAD also increases the death risks of children from diarrhea (UNICEF, 2015).
ADHD in Children
Iron is a nutrient that plays vital roles in numerous molecules found the brain and also the nervous system (N.S). A deficiency in this nutrient in the brain has proven to have a vast effect on the intellect and behavioral patterns of a child (Sizer & Whitney, 2013). Children who experience iron deficiency tend to demonstrate behavioral and also physical symptoms which include weakness, feeling sick, acting withdrawn from peers, sad and sometimes even depressed (Sizer & Whitney, 2013). Iron deficiency leads to ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). This was formally called ADD which stands for Attention Deficit Disorder. This disorder comes with such symptoms as lack of attentiveness and hyperactivity. These symptoms may differ from person to person
and both children and adults can develop the disorder. Iron deficiency is one of the most common form of malnutrition in the world. It is very common in Asia and also Africa. It arises from taking in foods that are relatively low in iron at early stages in life.
Breastmilk is the main source of iron for infants. When constantly giving cow milk to a child, it increases his/her tendencies of being iron deficient (Moy & Early, 1999). Asides ADHD, other outcomes of iron deficiency may include stunted growth, slow and delayed cognitive growth and poor performance in school (Moy & Early, 1999). As shown in the figure below, iron deficiency is much more common in children within the age range of 1-2 years. It is less common as children start to grow.
Figure 1. How common Iron Deficiency is in Children. (source: Looker et al, 1997).
Food is very important for learning as it provides energy. Nutrition and learning can be related directly and indirectly. An indirect relationship is when the food affects the learning capacity of the brain and body while the direct relationship is when the diet affect the development of the nervous system. It is important that these two relationships
are developed positively in a child. Caloric deficit in a child’s early stages in life results in a reduction in certain activities like interactions with peers (Pertz & Putnam, 1982).
It is important that a child eats at least three times in a day, breakfast most importantly. Certain effects on cognitive development, academic performance, attendance, social and also psychological function in children have been associated with skipping/missing breakfast (Rampersaud, 2005) Eating breakfast has been associated with outcomes such as better school performance and attendance, improved social and also mental activities, fitness and then a better and healthier weight (Grantham-McGregor, 2005).
Breakfast has a significantly high contribution to the nutrient and also energy intake daily. In India, children within the age range of 10-15 years were able to meet about one quarter (1/4) of one third (1/3) of the daily energy and protein consumed from that breakfast meal (Uma Chitra, 2007). This is to say that, if a child misses breakfast, that child misses out on a significant amount of energy and nutrients for that day thus causing weakness and inability to learn properly in school. Breakfast can also add to a child’s body mass index (BMI). Two reports have shown that children (and also adolescents) who consume breakfast stand a lower chance of being overweight or stunted (Szajewska and Ruszczynski, 2010; de la Hunty et al., 2013).
Children who go to school hungry tend to have a lower interest level when it comes to learning compared to children who eat a healthy breakfast before coming to school.
Their mental, social, cognitive and physical functions reduce and this can, in most cases, lead to an increase in school absenteeism (Read, 1973). It is only common sense to
realize that it is quite unreasonable for anyone let alone a child be able to study or even learn when no fuel whatsoever has been provided. Even a child who eats before going to school may experience some sort of hunger by late morning. Children who are very much underfed will definitely suffer more.
