By Morenike Taire

Sitting around a table and eating together is indisputably one of the most enriching  and vital events of the day, but chances are you are all eating the same thing. In this weight watching, cholesterol-bashing era, many children are being denied of crucial nutrition if their parents and other adults in the family are too watchful. When children are growing up their bodies are going through a lot of changes.

For this reason children have different nutritional needs to adults, especially if they’re under the age of five. Approaching your child’s diet with common sense and a conscientious attitude will keep them fit and healthy for the future.  There’s a lot of information and help out there if you’re unsure about any aspect of diet for children so do your research, keep in the know and your child will have a happy and healthy childhood.

U-fives, School Age and Beyond

They need a lot of calories and nutrients, but in small enough portions for their bodies to cope with.  You need to make sure your child isn’t eating food which will fill them up too much, meaning that they won’t have room to take in the right nutrients they need. Too many fibre-rich foods will fill a young child up.  Low-fat diets are great for older children and adults, but under-fives need to eat food which contains a good amount of fat, and the right fats.  Oily fish and full-fat milk are better than cakes, biscuits and chocolate which contain few vitamins and minerals.  Children under-five shouldn’t drink skimmed or semi-skimmed milk.

As kids start approaching five they should be moving towards a low fat, high fibre diet which is low in sugar and salt.  This is when kids should start to eat their five a day just like an adult diet. When kids reach the age of 15 they’ll often need to eat more than fully grown adults to support growth spurts.  They’ll need a lot more niacin, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium than adults.

Salt and Calories

Children also need far less salt than adults so you need to be careful about adding  extra salt to your family meals.  The sodium in salt is linked to problems like high blood pressure and heart failure.  This is the maximum salt intake for different age groups.

Chid obesity is a growing problem but on the other hand we don’t want to start putting children on diets which will affect their growth.  Children do need a lot of calories to grow; often it’s just the food sources of these calories which might need adapting.  It’s the common sense solution of reducing chocolates, unhealthy drinks and replacing them with healthy snacks and drinks which will help keep your child healthy and in some advanced countries that is actually a school policy.

Water

Total water requirements (from beverages and foods) are also higher in infants and children than for adults. Children have larger body surface area per unit of body weight and a reduced capacity for sweating when compared with adults, and therefore are at greater risk of morbidity and mortality from dehydration.  Parents may underestimate these fluid needs, especially if infants and children are experiencing fever, diarrhoea, or exposure to extreme temperatures.

Essential fatty acids

Requirements for fatty acids or fats on a per kilogram basis are higher in infants than adults. Some fatty acids play a key role in the central nervous system. However infants and children should not ingest large amounts of foods that contain predominantly fats, so it is important to get the balance right.

Statistics

2.3 billion

Obesity and diet-related chronic diseases and undernutrition collectively affect  an estimated 2.3 billion people globally – about one third of the world’s population. Together they have significant negative health and economic consequences in both high-income and lower-income countries and have become global public health  priorities.

1.4 billion

Obesity is a significant and growing public health issue that has been characterized by  the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “global epidemic”. While obesity has been a challenge in high-income countries for some time, it is now prevalent in a growing number of lower-income countries including Nigeria. Approximately 1.4 billion people are overweight, of which about 500 million are obese.

32 million

Over 32 million overweight children are living in  lower-income countries, compared to 10 million in high-income countries.

2.8 million

At least 2.8 million adults are estimated to die annually due to being overweight and obese, making these the fifth

leading risk for death globally. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (e.g., heart disease and stroke), diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and some cancers.

2-3%

Overall, many countries are estimated to lose 2-3% of their gross domestic product to undernutrition.

3-10X

In lower-income countries, sales of packaged foods are increasing from three to ten times faster than in high income countries. Levels of packaged food production and the number of supermarket retail outlets is growing

and will likely continue to do so as a result of further urbanization, economic growth and rising income levels.

12

Twelve companies (including  Coca-Cola Danon Heinz Nestlé PepsiCo Unilevers) state clear commitments to play a role in addressing undernutrition through their own philanthropic foundations. Such programs tend to focus more on hunger and food security than on addressing micronutrient deficiencies in lower income countries, and they are generally implemented on a responsive basis. Six companies, however, have a structured approach towards addressing undernutrition through philanthropy that is global and implemented in a variety of lower income countries.

Worldbank, WHO and Development Gateway

Crowdfunding site catapult.org with Chime For Change, funds 210 projects in 81 countries for girls’ and women’s rights

Catapult.org, a crowfunding site dedicated to girls’ and women’s health and rights, and a Women Deliver project, last week announced it has funded 210 projects in 81 countries from funds raised at THE SOUND OF CHANGE LIVE benefit concert held in London in June, 2013. In partnership with CHIME FOR CHANGE, a campaign founded by Gucci, Catapult raised $3.9 million at THE SOUND OF CHANGE LIVE and featured performances by Beyoncé, Florence + The Machine, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, Rita Ora, Timbaland, Jessie J and other artists.

The partnership between Catapult and  CHIME FOR CHANGE marked the first time that benefit concert attendees could choose exactly where their money went, by using gift cards to direct their donations to individual projects on Catapult.org.

Catapult founder Maz Kessler explains how “Catapult helps people use the open democracy of the web to choose girls and women’s projects closest to their hearts, and 100% of their online donation goes directly to the projects.”

“This approach – participating in the solution – is key to a young and rising global citizenship movement.”.

CHIME FOR CHANGE brought musicians and celebrities to curate projects on Catapult, encouraging online donors and concert-goers to join them in crowdfunding causes about which they feel passionately. Curators include Jada Pinkett, Madonna and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, who is supporting scholarships to Camp SMART in Houston, USA. The project will allow girls 12-15 years old to attend a two-week summer camp that focuses on science, math and technology in her hometown, to encourage young women to pursue careers that currently have fewer females.

CHIME FOR CHANGE  is a global campaign to raise funds and awareness for girls’ and women’s empowerment. CHIME FOR CHANGE serves to convene, unite and strengthen the voices speaking out for girls and women around the world, with a focus on three key areas: Education, Health and Justice. The CHIME FOR CHANGE campaign, launched in February 2013, presented its first major fundraising event, THE SOUND OF CHANGE LIVE, a global concert held on 1 June at London’s Twickenham Stadium.  The concert brought together some of the world’s most talented artists and renowned activists to raise funds and awareness for girls and women. Broadcast in more than 150 countries globally reaching an audience of one billion viewers, the concert enabled people from around the world to support real change for girls and women.

One of Catapult’s partners, One Heart World-Wide, is on their way, in the face of serious challenges, to  upgrading one more health post in Nepal so that it may function as a certified birthing centre!

One Heart World-Wide will cover funding for the renovation of the birthing centre and the purchase of necessary medical equipment, in addition to providing technical expertise needed for the set up of the Neonatal and Maternal Health unit in Phoksundo, including data collection and quality assurance tools, as well as trainings for skilled birth attendants, a staff nurse, female community health volunteers, and local Amchi practitioners.

Once complete, the Phoksundo birthing centre will be the third of five birthing centres they plan to build within the Dolpa district in order to ensure that no woman has to walk more than five hours; for many women in the area, the walk to a health facility can currently take up to five days. Reducing the challenges that women face in accessing care when it is needed is leading to healthier birth outcomes and saving lives.

Catapult has dozens of partners.