Nutrition and Global Health - Essay Example

Nutrition and Global Health Nutrition is crucial to the “proper mental and physical development” of children, because this will also impact their health as adults (127). Nutritional status can also affect pregnancy and results of pregnancy (143). It can affect birth weight, how children grow, and the extent of development of their cognitive functions (143). Malnourished pregnant women, for instance, are more likely to die during childbirth or give birth to malnourished infants who eventually die (127).

The main problem now is that even when nutrition is closely linked with health, a huge population of women and children from low-income nations or social classes are malnourished. “More than 30% of children” around the globe are “underweight” or are not attaining their ideal growth rates (128). It is estimated that around 5.5 million children die every year because of malnutrition (128). In addition, millions of women, who bear and take care of children, also suffer from malnutrition and particularly, many poor women are “underweight” (135).

At present, women and children are suffering from different illnesses, such as anemia and infections, with many also dying from these diseases, because of lack of proper nutrition. Lack of access to the right food, vitamins, and minerals at the entire development stages of women and children is a main problem for poor countries. The main nutritional issues for women and children are malnutrition and high morbidity, due to poor nutrition. Women also suffer from maternal morbidity and mortality.

For instance, there are 530,000 maternal deaths per year (152). These women often lack the proper nutrition needed for their bodies, as well as their fetuses. As also mentioned, millions of children are underweight and die from malnutrition, especially in Asia and Africa. Some of the nutrition challenges are proving to people that they can improve their nutrition by enhancing their knowledge about what they eat, how they cook their food, and how they should eat them (142). Vitamin and mineral supplementation should also be widely applied, because it can be a cost-efficient way of dealing with malnutrition (142).

Food fortification, such as iodizing salt, will also be crucial. Supplementation and food fortification, however, are not always easy to achieve. The governments should be dedicated to small and large measures that can enhance their nations nutritional status. They need help from non-profit organizations to achieve the necessary nutritional levels for their women and children. Without collaboration among these organizations, nutritional problems and issues for women and children can persist.