According to Professor Ignatius Onimawo, a specialist in Public Health Nutrition, inadequate nutrition during pregnancy can raise the risk of babies developing diabetes later in life. He emphasizes that the quality and quantity of nutrition received during pregnancy can have long-lasting and significant effects on the fetus. In an interview, Professor Onimawo warns that malnutrition during pregnancy has enduring consequences for the health and well-being of babies. He explains that pregnancy is a critical phase in a woman's life, requiring optimal and high-quality nutrients to support the developing fetus.
Professor Onimawo further explains that malnutrition during pregnancy not only makes children more susceptible to diseases and infections, but it also slows wound healing and delays the recovery of children who are already suffering from infections. Malnourished babies face numerous health challenges later in life, as their organs, such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and pancreas, do not develop properly. Malnutrition affects both cognitive and physical development, ultimately impacting a person's ability to lead a fulfilling life.
The professor, who was formerly the President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, highlights that poor nutrition during pregnancy significantly affects a child's health, emphasizing that the baby's nutrition relies on the mother's diet. Babies born to undernourished mothers are often underweight and face disadvantages that may result in developing diabetes as they grow older. This is due to improper muscle development in the womb.
Furthermore, Professor Onimawo explains that malnutrition has wide-ranging consequences, such as increasing healthcare costs, reducing productivity, and hindering economic growth. It perpetuates a cycle of poverty and ill health. Childhood malnutrition, including both undernutrition and overnutrition, makes children more vulnerable to infections and delays their recovery, thereby posing a substantial disease burden in developing countries. Malnutrition can take various forms, including undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate intake of vitamins or minerals, overweight, obesity, and diet-related noncommunicable diseases.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), malnutrition is a direct or underlying cause of 45% of all deaths in children under the age of five. Nigeria has the second-highest prevalence of stunted children globally, with 32% of children under five affected. Approximately 2 million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition, but only a fraction of them receive treatment. Additionally, 7% of women of childbearing age in Nigeria suffer from acute malnutrition.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stresses the importance of maintaining good nutrition and a healthy diet during pregnancy for the well-being of both the mother and the unborn child. A healthy diet during pregnancy should provide sufficient energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals. This can be achieved through the consumption of a diverse range of foods, including green and orange vegetables, meat, fish, beans, nuts, pasteurized dairy products, and fruit.
In light of these concerns, Professor Onimawo calls for increased nutrition awareness to address the burden of malnutrition during pregnancy among women in Nigeria. He also advises medical practitioners to counsel pregnant women about the benefits of healthy diets, particularly those rich in iron and folate. He emphasizes that nutrients like iron play a crucial role in cellular development, and a deficiency in iron during pregnancy can lead to improper cell formation and malformation in the baby.
In an article published in the PMC online journal, the authors highlight the extensively studied association between maternal malnutrition, low protein diet, and Type 2 diabetes. Epidemiological studies have found that individuals exposed to maternal malnutrition in certain impoverished countries may have an increased risk of metabolic diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, in adulthood. Additionally, recent research has observed the impact of a low protein diet during pregnancy on postnatal beta cells. Adult offspring of mothers who had a low protein diet during pregnancy exhibited increased oxidative stress and fibrosis, decreased expression of HNF4a, increased DNA methylation in P2 promoters, and altered cell differentiation, which may contribute to beta-cell dysfunction and an increased incidence of Type 2 diabetes in postnatal life.
No comments:
Post a Comment