Supporting Healthy Childhood nutrition: A Guide for Nurses
Childhood nutrition is critical for health adn development, with 45% of global child deaths linked to malnutrition (WHO). The first two years of life are notably vital, as optimal nutrition during this period reduces illness and mortality, lowers the risk of chronic diseases, and supports overall growth. Recognizing this, the General Nursing Council, in collaboration with Nestlé, has released a Practical recommendations guide in nutrition nursing in the healthy child, designed to support nurses in their practice.
Nurses play a key role as trusted health professionals in communities, schools, and pediatric settings, uniquely positioned to promote healthy eating habits from an early age. This guide addresses essential topics including:
Breastfeeding: Providing notable benefits for both child and mother, including protection against infections.
Complementary Feeding: Guidance on introducing solid foods.
Diet for Children Over One Year: Establishing healthy dietary patterns.
Healthy Habits & Allergies/Intolerances: addressing common concerns.
The guide offers practical, evidence-based details to help nurses guide families and ensure children recieve adequate nutrition during crucial developmental stages.
A Growing Concern: Childhood Obesity
Alongside malnutrition, childhood obesity is a major global health challenge. Increased exposure to unhealthy foods – driven by advertising,accessibility of low-quality options,and fast food - contributes to rising rates. This issue carries significant individual, social, and economic costs, with particularly pronounced challenges for children from low-income households, who are twice as likely to develop obesity due to social determinants.
As Florentino Pérez Raya, president of the General Council of Nursing, emphasizes, “Child health constitutes one of the essential pillars on which the present and future well-being of our society is constructed.” This guide aims to empower nurses to build that foundation through informed nutritional guidance.
[link to Guide: https://www.consejogeneralenfermeria.org/index.php?option=com_acymailing&ctrl=url&subid=139937&urlid=77192&mailid=12286]
