DIET AND HEALTH IN CHILDREN

Food is a basic human need. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, food is first in the pecking order. People need food for nutrition, energy, and growth. However, it may lead to various clinical complications such as malnutrition, obesity, diabetes, or heart attacks. The quality and dietary composition of food taken influences the health status of an individual. Various varieties of foods grow in different regions of the world. However, due to international trade, almost all regions of the world can access similar kinds of food. Feeding habits are determined by the availability of food and the food culture. Despite this, the different age groups have peculiar feeding habits. For a long time, nutritionists have questioned the quality of foods consumed by the population. Specifically, the practitioners assert that the kids of foods consumed hurt the health of the eaters. Young people have been put on the spot for consuming unhealthy meal compositions. Young people have a tendency to feed more on sugary foods. On the other hand, adults prefer a conservative diet devoid of sugars and fats. Fatty and sugary foods are unhealthy. Young ones consume plenty of fatty and sugary foods. Since the young ones consume mostly sugary foods, they are generally unhealthy.

I agree that sugary foods contribute to health complications. Medical practitioners assert that a higher consumption of sugary foods leads to diet-related diseases. Specifically, high sugar concentrations lead to increased blood pressure (hypertension) and heart diseases (Watson, 2008). It has been proven that high sugar levels contribute to diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus is an ailment arising out of increased insulin levels in the blood. Once the insulin levels increase beyond the optimum level that the human liver can regulate, the excess amounts of glucose moves into the bloodstream and goes into general circulation. High amounts of glucose in the blood increase the blood pressure by drawing more water. The diffusion gradient is higher in the blood vessels thus draws water from the connecting blood vessels. Increased water in the blood vessels builds up the pressure to higher levels, as it increases the capacity of fluids in the blood vessels. Blood vessels do not expand. The build-up volumes cause greater pressure in the veins and arteries. Higher blood pressure is dangerous as it often leads to heart attack. A heart attack is fatal.

Besides, high sugar levels contribute to obesity. Obesity is a condition where the body over-fattens due to huge concentrations of glucose in the body that is converted to dense lipids. Fizzy drinks such as sodas that have a high sugar concentration contribute to obesity (Schlosser, 2012). Lovers of fizzy drinks are more vulnerable to the condition as compared to their counterparts who take less sugar. In the modern settings where people love quick snacks and fast foods, fizzy drinks are a favorite to many. Sodas accompany pizzas, burgers, or French fries. These meal combinations often referred to as junk food, are a healthy hazard. Traditional meals are tedious to prepare and often cost more as compared to fast food. Office workers and school-going children prefer the light snack to the lunch break. However, the fast foods have a health effect on the consumers. Sugary foods also contribute to teeth damage. Without proper hygiene, consumers of sugary foods suffer dental damage from the retained sugars. The retained sugars are oxidized to acidic compounds that contribute to teeth decay. Based on the above illustrations, I agree that sugary foods contribute to health complications.

I agree that children are the worst hit by the health complications. At their tender age, children are not in a capacity to ascertain the harmful nature of the food. Sugary foods are a favorite amongst children due to their sweetness. The young ones are more likely to be drawn to the sugary foods than the less sugary ones. Due to work schedules, parents leave their children under the care of teachers or house helps. The volume of chores they have to undertake overwhelms teachers and house-helps. Consequently, children do not receive the care and attention they require to set them on the correct course. Most of the times, the children determine the kind of meals they will consume. Expectedly, the children resort to the sugary foods including cakes, ice cream, chocolates, and fudge (Schlosser, 2012). The imbalanced dietary compositions put the health of the children at risk. Sugar-related medical complications are more prevalent in children as compared to adults. Children have limited chances of exercise as compared to the adults. Besides, children are unable to regulate the amounts of sugars they consume. Young children are unable to effectively control their diets as they are not fully aware of the dangers they are exposing themselves to. On the other hand, adults have full knowledge about the effect of food and body maintenance.

Children are not the only ones affected by the high sugar intakes. Equally, adults are faced with the similar problem. Cases of hypertension, diabetes, blood pressure or heart attacks are prevalent amongst the adult population. The cause of these complications in adults is not necessarily out of higher volumes of sugar intakes. Adults have a better-regulated diet. At the advanced stages, adults have full knowledge about the dietary compositions and how best to regulate their sugar intake (Omaye, 2004). Thus, adults are less prone to sugar-related complications. The complications witnessed in adults are because of a build-up of sugar levels in the blood over a period. Despite the fact that the current intake is regulated, the minimal excess amounts often build up to great volumes. Similarly, adults can be affected by the sugars in the foods as children. However, the effects in the young children are adverse.

I do not agree with the contention that children are unhealthy merely because they consume a diet rich in sugars. The thesis statement is misleading by pegging the health status on diet alone. Various dimensions of human health have not been explored. From the preceding, it is apparent that the thesis only covers nutritional health. Sexual health and mental health are the other dimensions of the health status that have not been explored. A child may be feeding well but have serious mental problems. A mental disorder affects the emotional stability of an individual and renders them unfit for some functions. Such persons, irrespective of the fact that they feed well, will not be necessarily healthy. 

I do not agree that only diet contributes to poor health in young children. It is true that sugars contribute to deteriorating health in the young children. It is also true that because of the high sugar levels in the blood and the resultant complications, the young children are deemed to be unhealthy. The conclusion about the health status of the children is that they not well informed and does not account for all factors. The thesis statement presupposes that only dietary complications affect the health of children. Many issues contribute to an unhealthy status of an individual. Apart from diet, diseases adversely affect the health of an individual (Watson, 20008). Diseases that are not necessarily connected to the diet may affect the health of an individual. For instance, diseases such as HIV or Ebola are not diet related but could adversely affect the health of an individual. Biological factors also contribute to poor health. 

I do not agree that children are the only vulnerable members of the society. Diet problems exist even in adults. Cases of hypertension, heart attack, and diabetes in adults is conclusive proof that higher levels of sugar intake are prevalent in adults. If the health of an individual is determined by the manner in which their bodies handle sugar, then it is wrong to conclude that only young children are unhealthy. On the one hand, it is true that children are unhealthy because of the amount of sugars they consume. However, it is misleading to state that only the children who are affected. Such an argument is one sided and does not take into account all the connected factors. Non-diet related ailments could also cause poor healthy, as does sugar diet. To allege that only one factor is wholly responsible for poor health in young children is misleading. Despite the fact that adults alike are affected, they are less prone to attacks as they often exercise. Adults have a fitness workout plan, which they follow religiously. During the workouts, the excess sugar in the body is oxidized to release energy. Through this process, the excess sugar does not accumulate in the body leading to health complications.

It is true that sugary diet contributes to health complications in children. Some of these complications include hypertension, diabetes, or tooth decay. The thesis presupposes that the only form of health affected is food related. The thesis leaves out other forms of health such as mental and sexual health. Without incorporating the other aspects of human health, the conclusion by the statement is one-sided. In addition, the young children are at risk of contracting diet-related diseases. Adults alike are at a danger of contracting diabetes, hypertension, or heart attack. The higher level of susceptibility in children does not exclude adults from the effects of high sugar amounts in the diet. I agree that high sugar levels contribute to health complications in young children. I also agree that the young children are more susceptible to diseases because of sugar intake. However, I do not agree that the healthy status of an individual is only pegged on their dietary composition. I also do not agree that the young children who are affected.

References

Schlosser, E. (2012). Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of All-American Meal. New York: Mariner Books.

Omaye, S. (2004). Food and Nutritional Toxicology. CRC Press.

Watson, S. (2008). Fast Food. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.