5 Prevention of non-communicable health conditions
In this section you will explore the causes of and some preventative measures relating to:
- inadequate nutrition, including malnutrition
- childhood obesity
- dental caries (decay)
- mental health difficulties.
Before you read on, take ten minutes to complete Activity 3.
Activity 3 Non-communicable health conditions in babies and children
In a similar way to Activity 1, think about the questions in the table below. Draw on what you already know, and what you have already learned during this course and then make some notes.
| What can be done to prevent the spread of this non-communicable condition? | Any other comments/thoughts you may have | |
|---|---|---|
| Inadequate nutrition/malnutrition | ||
| Childhood obesity | ||
| Dental caries (decay) | ||
| Mental health difficulties |
Comment
You may have written that the causes of the above conditions are influenced by a range of factors in the child’s environment, such as social, economic, cultural and other lifestyle determinants. This has been explored previously in this course; the most negative determinant on children’s health are the factors that are associated with living in poverty. Living in poverty can mean that children do not receive healthy, well-balanced food and drink. This can lead to a range of health problems such as vitamin deficiency, childhood obesity and dental caries (decay). Lifestyle changes in childhood have meant that many children are less physically active than they used to be. The toxic combination of high energy food and drink and low levels of activity have led to the worrying levels of childhood obesity.
The following sections start to look at these conditions in more detail.