CHILD NUTRITION: A PILLAR TO DEVELOPMENT

Adequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is fundamental to the development of each child’s full human potential. Breast feeding, the nature’s way of nurturing the child, fulfils all the basic needs of child’s body up to 6 months followed by complementary feeding having weaning paps. There is a necessity of proper nutrient requirements as this is the peak age for growth faltering, deficiencies of certain micronutrients, and common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea. The immediate consequences of poor nutrition during these formative years include significant morbidity and mortality and delayed mental and motor development. Nutrition is the major intrauterine environmental factor that alters expression of the foetal genome and may have lifelong consequences. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that caregivers are provided with appropriate guidance regarding optimal feeding of infants and young children. Nutrition is therefore an issue of survival, health and development for current and succeeding generations.