Question

The WHO recommends that mothers breastfeed for a minimum of 2 years. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for only 1 year. Why do you think these recommendations are different? Apes breastfeed on average 4-6 years, how does this compare to the average breastfeeding duration in humans in our society (3 months). Do you think there may be nutritional/developmental consequences for humans?

Nutrition During Adulthood

Our goal is to live longer lives through proper nutrition, but also to maintain a quality of life for as long as possible. What does it mean to compress morbidity? How do nutritional needs change as you enter your 60s and beyond? How can you adjust your nutrition and exercise now to conserve the function of your organ systems (reserve capacity) through old age?

Answer 1

Biology:

In the United States, the American Academy of Pediatrics, also known as AAP currently recommends about breastfeeding that infants should be fed breast milk for the first 6 months after birth. Exclusive breastfeeding means that the infant does not receive any additional foods (except vitamin D) or fluids unless it is medically recommended.
After the first 6 months of birth and until the infant is of 1 year old, the AAP recommends that the mother continue breastfeeding while gradually introducing solid foods into the infant's diet chart. After 1 year, breastfeeding can be continued mother and her infant desire to do.

The World Health Organisation recommends that infants be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months after birth to achieve optimal growth, development, and health. And after the first 6 months, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to 2 years of age or beyond.

Apes breastfeed their infants for 3-4 years. In case of human it is only six months to 1 years. After that time human infants start getting diet from outer source. But in case of apes the chances are lesser. For this reason, to complete the full food condition, apes breastfeed their infants for a long time.

Nutrition During Adulthood:

Probably, the greatest human accomplishment of the past centuries was the remarkable increase in life expectancy. A century in which the world changed markedly from having almost no countries with life expectancy more than sixty years to having many countries with a life expectancy of eighth years as life expectancy almost doubled in the long-lived part of the world. As an example, in the United States life expectancy at birth over the 110 years from 1900 to 2010 went from 47.3 to 78.7. At first, this increasing rate of life resulted from declines in infectious disease and deaths concentrated among the young. After the most of the deaths from infectious conditions were eliminated, cardiovascular conditions and cancer has dominated the causes of death. These things then became the targets of science and medicine in the second half of the last century.

Due in large rate to declining mortality from heart disease, life expectancy continued to increase in the last decades of the 20th century. Just because the heart disease primarily causes death among older adults, recent increases in life expectancy have occurred at older ages. Life expectancy has increased all the way up the age range up to 100 years. For instance, life expectancy at ages 65 and 85 increased by about 50% over the century.

As you age, your body needs the same amount of protein, vitamins minerals and in some instances, even more nutrients.

.After age 50, body's ability to absorb the vitamin often fades because you don't have as much acid in stomach, which is needed to break B-12 down from food sources. B-12 vitamins should be taken for this.

The same is true for vitamin D. Skin is less able than younger skin to change sunlight to the vitamin. That, in turn, affects the body's ability to absorb the calcium.

Both vitamin D and calcium is needed to prevent bone loss.