Mind and Body Health | Page 22

Does Childhood Nutrition Affect Development and Learning?

By, Eva Kuchinsky

“She’s a kid, just let her have the cookie for breakfast!” “Hello waiter, my son will have a large Coca-Cola with his dinner.” These are all statements which I am sure we have all heard in some shape or form from a parent to their child and thought nothing of it. But how are these sugary indulgences really affecting the younger generations?

Children and teenagers who engage in unhealthy diets are at risk for not only physical but also academic decline. To be clear, an unhealthy diet is one which consists of refined grains, processed foods and foods high in fat, sugar, cholesterol and sodium. Because junk food is stripped of essential fibers, vitamins and minerals, your body is forced to digests the food very quickly which in turn allows for the person to become hungry quicker, thus turning into a dangerously unhealthy cycle of eating. The danger of eating too much sodium is the risk of high blood pressure, and this risk increases as we grow older. And as mentioned before, those who lead an unhealthy diet commonly consume unhealthy fats which may increase a teen’s risk of high cholesterol and atherosclerosis (a build-up of cholesterol in the arteries which obstructs blood flow). Additionally, calcium is the most important nutrient for adolescents and teenagers and “according to recent statistics 9 out of 10 teenage girls and 7 out of 10 teenage boys do NOT get enough calcium in their diet” (Belluz, Julia)

One of the reasons for these calcium deficiencies is the fact that more and more children are being diagnosed with dairy allergies and intolerances in recent years. Those who do not meet their daily requirements of this nutrient have a higher risk of brittle bones, stunted bone growth as well as osteoporosis in their later life (Ireland, Kay).