Finally! Christie exclaimed as she sat in the front seat of the conference hall, venue of the famous Dr. Annie Douglas’ health talk. She had always dreamed of attending one of Fr. Douglas’ health seminars, and now she’ finally got the opportunity. 10 minutes after she was seated, the speaker climbed the podium.
The first thing on my list is poor eating habits, Dr. Douglas announced after observing the usual protocol and introducing the seminar topic: “THE HEALTH RISKS WOMEN TAKE”.
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Some of you are malnourished because you don’t eat well-balanced diets. That’s risky! Malnourishment or malnutrition accounts for the high mortality rate during child delivery. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is the most dangerous single threat to global threat public health, especially as it can impact significant on both physical and emotional well-being.
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Depending on which nutritional deficiency you have -overnutrition or undernutrition- the signs and symptoms of malnutrition include fatigue (tiredness) and low energy, dizziness, poor immune function (which can harm the body’s ability to fight off infections), dry, scaly skin, swollen and bleeding gums, decaying teeth, slowed reaction times and trouble paying attention, underweight, poor growth, muscle weakness, bloated stomach, osteoporosis or fragile bones that break easily, problems with organ function, and problems learning.
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If you are pregnant and malnourished, your child may weigh less at birth and have lower chance of survival, or grow up to have Marasmus (energy deficiency) or #Kwashiorkor (protein deficiency), both resulting in stunted growth and reduced body weight. Vitamin A deficiency from malnutrition is the chief cause of preventable blindness in the developing world, and kids with severe vitamin A deficiency have a greater chance of getting sick or dying from infections such as diarrhea or measles. Iodine deficiency can cause mental retardation and delayed development. Iron deficiency in infancy can delay development and make older kids less active and less able to concentrate. Teens who are malnourished often have trouble keeping up in school.
Expect part 2