Poor nutrition threatening Australia’s future generations
Poor nutrition and lifestyle choices in the early years have long term effects on a child's health.
Experts are warning that children born today are at higher risk of a range of health problems not faced by previous generations.
“We know that during pregnancy and throughout infancy, there are critical times when a foetus and baby are particularly susceptible to the influence of nutrition – both good and poor nutritional intake,” said Early Life Nutrition Coalition chairperson Professor Peter Davies, Director of the Children’s Nutrition Research Centre at the University of Queensland.
The coalition warns that poor nutrition and lifestyle in the first 1,000 days of a child's life can influence its propensity for developing a range of ailments from obesity to cardiovascular disease in later life.
“For many of these diseases, it’s not genes, but environmental factors and nutritional intake in the earliest stages of life that are most influential,” Davies said.
Worse still, Davies warns that these health and lifestyle choices may be affecting your child's life-expectancy.
“Too often, attention to long-term health starts too late in life when it may be too late to make a significant impact. We now know that setting the foundation for good health starts well before a child is born and that in most cases it begins before they are even conceived,” Professor Davies added.
Obesity is a huge problem in Australia. Roughly 65% of Australian adults and 25% of Aussie children are either obese or overweight.
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