Chronic malnutrition, has an irreversible impact on children’s physical and intellectual development if it is not treated in the first two years of life. To prevent stunting and anaemia in mothers and their children, food and nutrition security, water, hygiene and sanitation, and other endemic social and health-related problems need to be addressed together.
Desiree Jongsma, UNICEF’s representative in the Democratic Republic of Korea, described the improvements in childhood nutrition as “Modest but significant.” These findings revealed by data from a new comprehensive national nutrition survey show that stunting has decreased from 32.3 per cent to 27.9 per cent since 2009, while acute malnutrition is down from 5.2 per cent to 4 per cent, and the incidence of underweight children is down from 18.8 per cent to 15.5 per cent.
The 2012 survey looked at the prevalence of acute and chronic malnutrition and anaemia among children less than five years old, documented nutrition-related diseases in these children and provided data on vitamin A supplementation coverage, on breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices. The survey also assessed acute malnutrition, anaemia, micronutrient supplementation coverage, and food diversity in all the mothers of the children surveyed.
The survey found wide variations in stunting between provinces, with approximately 20 per cent of children in Pyongyang being stunted, versus more than 30 per cent of children in the north-eastern provinces.
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A new study suggests that community-based education programs to improve intake of dietary calcium could make a difference in bone health and fracture prevention for the postmenopausal population. In many Asian countries, levels of dietary calcium and vitamin D in the general population have been shown to be below FAO/WHO recommended levels of calcium intake. For pre-menopausal women and men under age 65 the recommended levels are 1000 mg/day and for postmenopausal women and men over age 65 the recommendations are for 1300 mg/day.
Researchers carried out a controlled trial in the Red River Delta in Vietnam involving a total of 140 women. The women, aged 55 years, had been postmenopausal for at least 5 years, and had low dietary calcium intake (less than 400 mg/day). An intervention group was given nutrition education counselling over 18 months to improve calcium intake.
After 18 months, the women in the intervention group had increased their calcium intake significantly. Testing showed that the intervention group’s bone mass had remained stable. In comparison, the bone mass of the control group which had not received nutrition education, had decreased by 0.5 % (p<0.01). The PTH (parathyroid hormone) values in the intervention group decreased by 12 % (p<0.01) whereas in the controls, PTH increased by 32 % (p<0.001). Consider the Source

At Mark Twain Middle School in Los Angeles, a blooming garden serves as a classroom. Students learn math by measuring the growth of wheat, ancient history by building a Mesopotamian-style irrigation system and the science of evaporation, evolution and genetics by watching their garden grow. At lunchtime you will find them snacking on pasta tossed in a sauce featuring just-picked tomatoes and basil.
Healthful eating is linked to academic achievement and some students rely on school meals for most of their daily nutrition. Keonta Johnson, a Mark Twain sixth-grader sitting with three of his friends, said they enjoyed such healthful cafeteria fare as rice and beans, salads and fruits. “We know if we eat too much junk food we’ll get fat and have a greater chance of heart attacks and diabetes.” Edwin Castro, a seventh-grader, said lessons in eating habits, history and other subjects that employed hands-on work out in the school garden have been far more exciting than just reading textbooks.
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“If you can show someone how special they are, that they are wonderfully made, that empowers them with value and it changes their lives.” So says Pam Van Meter, a certified health education specialist who works at the Bethesda Clinic in Tyler Texas.
The clinic provides women with job training and other life skills. The women attend classes twice a week and learn to cook healthy meals from scratch while focusing on the message of the program: cook nutritious meals and limit portion sizes. Here clients learn the basics of good nutrition, which includes using less processed foods and adding more vegetables to the diet.
A focus on nutrition has slowly expanded at the clinic. Health officials say poor nutrition is at the core of the obesity epidemic and chronic illnesses, which costs have overwhelmingly burdened the health care system. The clinic hopes the basics learned in the nutrition classes will resonate with entire families. It’s not enough for one person to create a healthy lifestyle, Bethesda officials say. If the family can enjoy and embrace good nutrition, it could break the cycle of chronic illness in each family.
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Chicago Public School students will be growing much of their own food next year. On Sunday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a $1 million investment into the school system’s gardening and nutrition programs. The money is left over from the NATO Summit that took place last spring.
About 100 Chicago schools will be getting the new gardens. Within the small number that previously had such programs, sixth graders consumed more than double the fruits and vegetables of the other students. Hands-on experience and easy access to fruits and vegetables is making a difference in these young lives.
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The problem with trickle-down economics is that evaporation occurs at twice the rate of flow. — Robert H. Kalk