The Long Term Health Consequences Of Deprived Prenatal Nutrition

Since the beginning of time, the birth of a baby was a sign of a new life, and within today’s society, many of those lives start within a hospital with the assistance of different medical staff. Now, every family and parent is different in regards to the upbringing of their future child well before their birth, and in order to protect and support this idea; different programs were established within Canada. The Canadian Prenatal Nutrition Program which was established in 1995 can be considered one, as they work to provide support to the health and wellbeing of pregnant women within different communities. Within their program some prominent goals mentioned are: to improve maternal-infant health, increase birth weight rate, and promote breastfeeding

Obesity during childhood is associated with increased risk of obesity, premature death and disability in later life and drives to the growth of type 2 diabetes (WHO, 2015; Singh et al, 2008). Life course approach is easily understandable in the context of obesity, since obesity is connected with many macro and micro level factors which come and play during a person’s lifespan i.e. in each critical period. (Prenatal to old age). Each of those factors depend by the life stage and major transition points of the life trajectory (Musingarimi, 2008). Micro level factors are poor nutrients to mother during pregnancy, low income of the family, no or lack of breastmilk from mother during infancy and childhood, energy dense food consumption, sedentary lifestyle, gender, ethnicity, socio economic status whereas macro level factors are food insecurity, low income, company policies (minimum wage), inability to access health services, lack of government support, lack of policies to promote nutritious foods. Each of these factors are interconnected and drives to the development of an obese person by certain

Child obesity is alarmingly prevalent in the United States today; approximately 18 percent of adolescents are considered obese. Obesity is defined as “one of the most pervasive chronic diseases...that affects more than one-third of the population” (Source 2). While obesity may be a major challenge facing adults in the United States, adolescents are facing a similar struggle. More than 33 percents of all children and teens suffer from obesity. But why is child obesity such a major problem in the United States? Though obesity has been shown to have some genetic inheritance between parents and offspring. Adolescents are regularly eating fatty and unhealthy foods, and are not getting the

In our time period, there is a significant increase in the average body index in all age groups and most commonly with the women who are entering their reproduction age. According to the article, “Weight Gain During Pregnancy”, a normal weighted gravida, or pregnant woman, has BMI of 18.5–24.9 Kg/m2, over-weight gravida has BMI of 25–29.9 Kg/m2, and obese gravida has BMI of 30 and greater Kg/m2. Obese pregnant women face many critical health risks compare to normal weight pregnant women. In the study “Maternal Obesity a Global Health Problem and Its Implications on Maternal and Fetal Health”, by Hashmi and his colleagues, they aimed to find out if obese women were at greater risk of having adverse reproductive outcomes compared to women with a normal BMI. By using

When thinking of public health in regards specifically to obesity, a study into maternal obesity and the long-term health of the offspring, found that ‘maternal obesity has been associated with a number of long-term adverse health outcomes in the offspring, including lifelong risk of obesity and metabolic dysregulation with increased insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidaemia, as well as behavioural problems and risk of asthma’ (O’Reilly et al, 2012:1), this highlights to us the implications not just to mother, but the long term effects to her child.

First, because American mothers and fathers were misled or failed to deliver healthy children to the best of their abilities, generations have inherited and still are inheriting genes that have triggered obesity. Early-life impacts, starting with the intrauterine environment, have shaped the path of weight gain and body fatness throughout a child’s life course. Shari Roan, a journalist at the Los Angeles Times newspaper, says obesity rates in American children may have risen because of pregnant mothers’ misconceptions and irresponsible decisions related to the care of their unborn children. She continues that Melinda Sothern, a leading fitness and nutrition expert at Louisiana State

Within this assignment I am going to look at the main nutritional needs for pregnant women and adolescents and discuss the similarities and differences between their nutritional requirements.

Neonatal and perinatal health outcomes will influencing the overall future health of an individual. Indeed, many illnesses and disorders originate from prenatal and early infancy abnormal developments. Preterm-birth and low-birth weight have been positively correlated with adverse health outcomes ranging from childhood to the adult life of an individual. Thus, it is essential for public health professionals to understand not only the biological factors influencing birth timing and weight, but also the psychosocial dynamics which may impact those outcomes. For years, many scientists have observed what is called the ‘migrant paradox’. The migrant paradox designates a situation where first generation immigrants who are almost systematically socio-economically disadvantaged exhibit better health outcomes as the native-born population. There could be multiple causes to this migrant paradox. In this paper, I will attempt to evaluate multiple studies aimed at tackling the link between perinatal and neonatal health outcomes and migrant status. Those papers have been published within the past 15 years, with the notable exception of Rumbault’s 1997 paper on assimilation. In this article, the American sociologists suggests that assimilation does not always carry out positive consequences on the health of immigrants. Indeed, some elements of the habitus of the native-born population may have adverse effects on health outcomes. Thus, while assimilating, the immigrants lose negative and

Sadly though, obesity in children has doubled over the last thirty years and eighteen percent of children age six to eleven are obese. This percentage rate increase to over twenty percent in children between the age of twelve and nineteen (Anonymous, 2016). With the increase in childhood obesity, experts have been researching why there is a spike among children developing obesity. Some evidence points to genetics as a contributing factor in childhood obesity. Studies show that among parents with weight problems there is a greater chance of their children being overweight or obese (Steele and Steele, 2006). The DNA is passed down from parent to child through the “thrifty” gene. It is believed that this gene is a risk factor because it causes a child to have a lower level of energy (Anonymous, 2010). Next there is the idea that childhood obesity is a nutritional

Diet: Folate and methionine pathways are sources of methyl groups for DNA and histones. Methyl groups can’t be acquired directly without these cycles. Hence, a diet low in folate and methionine ultimately leads to an alteration in DNA methylation.

Foods and their nutrients are essential to life. In the beginning years of life an infant’s nutritional health depends on the family unit. Parents must have knowledge of the changing food needs of the child and must also have sufficient resources to provide food, shelter, and clothing for the family. Equally important, parents create the cultural and psychological environment that influences the

(12) Results of a recent study across different ethnicities continue to link insulin resistance to in adulthood to lower birth weight.

Epigenetics can be hereditable or environmental factors that affect the expression of genes and lead to changes in gene expression. Unlike genetics, epigenetics does not only have to do with which genes are passed down to the offspring and the DNA sequence. The environmental conditions of the offspring’s parents impact the genes in their eggs and sperms by “switching on” certain genes and “switching of” others (Dowshen). Since the genes expression of the gametes are affect, the phenotypes of the offspring will change. Even in a person’s lifetime, environmental factors such as stress, chemical exposure, and diet can continue to impact gene expression through DNA methylation. During DNA methylation, a methyl group is randomly added to a 5-carbon cytosine ring, making 5-methylcytosine and these groups inhibit transcription. (Cheriyedath). Due the fact that transcription is not possible, the expressing of the genes in that section of the DNA strand will be suppressed. The attachment of the methyl group to DNA is not determined, which means that

Prenatal vitamins are a standard requirement for pregnant women to help ensure that the fetus gets all of the nutrients it needs to grow. Inside of these vitamins are higher than normally required amounts of essential nutrients for the human body. Folic acid, calcium and iron are some of the most valuable vitamins and minerals in these supplements.

Furthermore, phenotypic adaptation falls into the category of people adapting to food. Phenotypic expressions of adaptation occur in the developmental stage; through differences between prenatal and postnatal environments, which can lead to diabetes and obesity in adulthood. In this case, the origins are limited to two or three generations as opposed to thousands of years of evolution as in genotypic—there is no change in biology of individuals. Maternal health, particularly under-nourished indicates a nutritionally restricted fetal environment; the fetus adapts to these conditions and increases its ability to store fat, preparing it for a postnatal environment similar to