Importance of childhood nutrition

‘Nutrition’ has been a never-ending topic of discussion among mothers, paediatricians, and dieticians, and of lately, has seeped into the conversations of the health-conscious generation too. It may appear overrated or it may sound cliched, but the fact is nutrition indeed is a vital aspect of a healthy life and deserves conscious and considerable attention; especially during the growth years of children.

Importance of nutrition during formative years

Childhood is the most eventful of all developmental stages - be it physical, cognitive, social, emotional, or language and communication – children are the most active learners during this phase. However, children must be provided with adequate nourishment for them to achieve various developmental milestones age-appropriately. A balanced nutritious diet comprising of the right amount of essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, vitamins and minerals become vital for proper growth and development of children. Heeding to this NGOs like The Akshaya Patra Foundation have taken up food and nutrition as their core cause. Akshaya Patra is an NGO that implements the Mid-Day Meal Scheme and has been providing nutritious meals to children of government schools and government-aided schools since 2000.

Benefits of good nutrition

There are several advantages of good nutrition for children. Here are a handful of them:

•             Proper nutrition supports age-appropriate growth and development in children;

•             It improves the immunity level in children thereby keeping infections and diseases at bay;

•             It enhances cognitive functioning, level of activeness, social connections and interest to learn and explore different activities;

•             Better-nourished children are more active at school and perform well in their academics and other school activities.

•             Under-nourishment leads to low immunity, a decrease in activity levels, social interactions, urge to learn, and cognitive functioning, and poor academic performance. It also has an adverse effect on the child’s physical and emotional development.

Role of mid-day meal in nourishing children

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme is a government initiative to provide healthy and nutritious meals to children of government schools and government-aided schools. The children of these schools hail from not-so-privileged socio-economic backgrounds and for them, the mid-day meal becomes the only source of nutrition, and many times it is the only proper meal they get for the entire day. The Mid-Day Meal Scheme is aimed to counter classroom hunger, address malnutrition, increase school enrolment, increase school attendance, and improve socialisation among children belonging to different castes. Favourably, several studies report a positive impact of the mid-day meal on all the mentioned aspects. So, that the mid-day meal and its nutritious value benefit more children, Akshaya Patra is strategically and sustainably expanded its reach across the country.

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Created on Jun 20th 2018 04:15. Viewed 685 times.

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