Question

describe how food can affect health.  Discuss (don't just list) 4 different ways that this can occur. For each of the 4, describe a public health strategy that has been put in place to try to improve health.

Answer 1

Food affects health in a variety of ways. They can be both positive and negative. Eating too much food or too little of food can affect health adversely. Eating the right food in right amounts is the key to great health.

WAYS IN WHICH FOOD AFFECTS HEALTH -

1. NORMAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.
✓eating a nutrient rich diet leads to appropriate growth in the body.
✓ food affects development in physical and mental plane.
✓ adverse affects of improper nutrition can be seen more clearly in children. They suffer from wasting, stunted growth, anemia, learning issues, behavioral disorders,etc.
✓public health strategy - school health guidelines to promote healthy eating and physical activity in school going children.

2.FOOD BORNE DISEASES -
✓ Just eating nutritious food is not enough. It is crucial to ensure that the food is not contaminated. Contaminated food can cause disruption in the body
✓ pathogens like e.coli, salmonella, etc. enter the body through contaminated food and produce diseases.
✓ Maintaining proper hygiene ensures that food stays clean.
✓ public health strategy - surveillance of food borne diseases through integrated safety centers of excellence. CDC also supports these centers in capacity building.

3.NON COMMUNICABLE DISEASES -
✓ apart from producing food borne diseases, eating Improper food can also lead to non communicable diseases like hypertension , type 2 diabetes mellitus , etc.
✓ there is an increasing trend of fast food consumption across the country , which may even be termed as 'junk food epidemic'. Such foods do not provide anything except taste. They have negative impacts on almost every organ system.
✓ eating food high in trans fat for a long period can lead to disrupted vessels.
✓ public health strategy- a national NCD plan of action advises identifying the risk factors for these diseases and educating people about the long term negative consequences.

4.VITAMIN DEFICIENCY DISORDERS -
✓ It is crucial to ensure a daily intake of adequate vitamins in the diet. Failing to do so, can lead to various deficiency disorders .
✓ for eg - vitamin a deficiency causes night blindness, vitamin c deficiency causes scurvy, vitamin d deficiency causes rickets,etc.
✓ these disorders can be easily treated by eating a wholesome diet.
✓ public health strategy - public health awareness programmes are being conducted by the physicians where they educate people about ways to increase vitamin D intake.