The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) commemorates World Food Day every October 16, in order to highlight the right to diverse, affordable, safe food with high nutritional value at all stages of the life course.
This day provides a crucial opportunity to reflect on how nutrition can be improved from the earliest years, and thus address the challenges associated with malnutrition and malnutrition.
“Currently, worldwide, around 4 million children under 5 years of age, representing 8%, are overweight or obese, while 49 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19, equivalent to 30%, are overweight or obese. , present these conditions.
Obesity-promoting environments constitute one of the main challenges, and undoubtedly preventing overweight requires a comprehensive strategy that includes policies, laws, services and practices designed to promote healthy, inclusive and climate change-resilient food systems,” said Carlos Carrera. , UNICEF representative in the Dominican nation.
According to ENHOGAR-MICS 2019, it is indicated that in the Dominican Republic there is a prevalence of overweight of 8% in children under 5 years of age.
On the other hand, other findings from studies on the subject in the country highlight that 15% of children in the national territory suffer from overweight (including obesity), which places us among the countries in the region with the highest burden of obesity. .
Likewise, it is established that overweight affects approximately one third of children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years old, with a slightly higher figure in men compared to women. Meanwhile, obesity is 16% and 14%, respectively.
Eating habits of the little ones: Exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding
Exclusive breastfeeding is essential for the healthy development of newborns, providing all the necessary nutrients and strengthening the immune system.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF recommend that breast milk be the only food for babies during the first six months of life.
Subsequently, after six months, you must introduce a complementary diet adequate that gradually includes other varied foods in addition to breast milk, allowing the baby to explore different textures and flavors as his physical and neurological development allows.
Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure the health and survival of children. However, contrary to WHO recommendations, less than half of infants are exclusively breastfed.
Research from WHO and UNICEF has shown that breastfed children perform better on intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight or obese, and, later in life, to suffer from diabetes. Women who breastfeed also have a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Likewise, they assure that the incorrect marketing of breast milk substitutes continues to undermine efforts to improve breastfeeding rates and duration around the world.
School feeding: Creating healthy environments in schools
The school food environment plays a crucial role in forming healthy eating habits. It is essential that schools foster an environment that encourages the availability of highly nutritious foods and regulate the sale of unhealthy products in their cafeterias. Nutrition education should be an integral part of the school curriculum, so that students acquire knowledge about balanced eating and make informed decisions about their diet. From UNICEF, it is recommended:
- Ensure that school feeding programs and vending spaces within schools offer nutritious options.
- Regulation of the sale of food and beverages: Implement rules that restrict the availability of foods and beverages with low nutritional value or ultra-processed.
- Nutrition education: Include educational programs that teach students about the importance of a balanced and healthy diet.
Adolescents: Facing digital marketing and the increase in overweight
Adolescents face additional diet-related challenges due to the lack of regulations on the marketing of ultra-processed foods and beverages with excess critical nutrients, such as: sugar, salt, trans fats, total fats, as well as the contents of caffeine and sweeteners not recommended for children.
The international organization asserts that digital marketing is one of the channels that promotes foods and drinks with excess nutrients such as those mentioned.
This phenomenon has contributed to the increase in overweight and obesity in adolescents attending school, reaching a worrying 30% of this population.
“It is essential that measures be taken to achieve a law on front labeling of nutritional warnings on all prepackaged foods and beverages, and in this way counteract the negative impact of advertising, including digital marketing focused on unhealthy foods and that promotes balanced diet during this critical stage of development,” they emphasize.
Severe acute malnutrition and risk of malnutrition in vulnerable communities
One of the most serious problems of malnutrition is severe acute malnutrition, a painful condition that affects millions of children around the world, especially in vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities. In the Dominican Republic this phenomenon affects:
Slums: Areas such as La Barquita, Los Guandules, La Ciénaga and El Limoncito often face problems of poverty and lack of basic services.
Rural communities: Many rural areas face difficulties in accessing education, health and employment.
High migration areas: Places with a high concentration of immigrants often lack adequate services, such as the Montecristi and Dajabón areas.
These conditions, caused by lack of access to nutritious foods and the prevalence of recurring diseases such as diarrhea, measles and malaria, weaken children, making them more prone to delays in growth and development, and at greater risk of serious illnesses. Approximately 1 in 5 deaths among children under 5 years of age is attributed to this severe form of malnutrition.
Solutions include early detection, expansion of treatment services, and access to ready-to-use therapeutic foods. UNICEF is working with global partners to support these efforts and provide functional nutrition to save lives and promote healthy growth for afflicted children.
“On World Food Day, we renew our commitment to adequate nutrition at all stages of the child’s life course. It is essential that we work together to ensure that every child receives the support necessary to grow and develop healthily from infancy. Coordinated action on these fronts will not only improve the health of our children, but will also contribute to leaving no one behind and building a future with greater equity, inclusion and resilience for all,” Carrera noted.
