Food science and nutrition - Essay Example

Food & Nutrition Since centuries, poverty has remained a major confrontation in the human society that is still affecting millions of families around the globe, especially in developing parts of the world. However, a number of governments are endeavoring to facilitate poor families by guiding them principles of family planning, skills training, in order to enhance their quality of life. In this aspect, few studies (Maume, pp. 29-33) indicated that people from deprived families are more involved in childbirths, and they take risk to have more children, as compared with middle or rich families.

In this regard, experts have indicated a few reasons for such huge number of children in poor families. Specifically, some researches indicated that poor families are mostly unaware of family planning and contraception methods that result in a child every year. Secondly, poor families sent their children to work from very early age, and thus, a number of poor families plan childbirths to have a son that will work for the family. Besides, few experts indicate that women in African countries have high fertility rates (Maume, pp. 23-25), and a majority of families is poor in such countries.

Additionally, families with more children are able to acquire greater funding from the government packages, and thus, they are willing to take risk of having more children despite of their deprived situation, and risk of child deaths. Starvation is one of the adverse outcomes of poor families; however, it is an observation that individuals in poor families are able to work harder, as compared to people from middle classes. In other words, body metabolism of poor individuals adapts and adjusts with the conditions of starvation.

During starvation, or even during fasting, one can observe a rapid reduction in reserves of glycogen that results in the distribution of fat, as well as protein reserves in different parts of the body. In starvation, oxaloacetic acid produces glucose, and studies (Berek, pp. 717) indicated that enhancement in turnover of ketone occurs in the human body due to long-term starvation, and the body reduces production of various components that allows the body to store vital proteins additionally. Within few days, fat stores deplete in the body, and subsequently, body metabolism adapts on acquiring its fuel and energy from fat, and experts term it ‘carbohydrate economy’ of the human body (Berek, pp. 717).Works Cited Berek, Jonathan S.

Practical Gynecologic Oncology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005. Maume, David J. Child Poverty in America Today. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007.