Sufficient foods: Community Health and Nutrition Programs.

Adequate food and nutrient consumption are human basic necessities for life, healthy living, and individual well-being. For many decades, Community Health Nutrition elements have sparked strong debate about why and how they should be implemented to benefit the majority. Yet, evidence from several studies shows that significant changes occur when Nutritional Health in the Community primarily involves women and children (Bhutta et al., 2013). Nutrition is a significant health determinant. Individual eating practices differ, and everyday dietary choices affect nutritional status. 69% of Americans are overweight, according to Bhutta (2013), and this is attributable to unhealthy eating habits. People can improve their nutritional status by choosing healthy diets. However, this is the direct opposite of the majority of the citizens in the developing countries where people die of malnutrition.

A good nutrition is a basic component of health. It helps to maintain a healthy weight. It can also help put many factors into check. The factors in check include; reduce diseases such as diabetes, stroke heart diseases, and heart disease among others. It also lower cholesterol level in the body, reduce high blood pressure, and improve immunity of human body (Bhutta et al., 2013). However, some factors hinder or work against achieving optimal nutrition and they include; inadequate incomes or high costs of food making nutritious food unaffordable, inadequate knowledge about nutrient requirements, and unavailability of nutritious food to many families in the community (Townsend 2014).

Nutritional health is one of the prime indices of health within a community. Community nutrition stresses on application of nutrition knowledge as well as availability of food, policy, and research to the advancement the general health of community (Townsend 2014). It ensures activities are planned to provide admittance to a safe, sufficient and healthy diet to the community (Townsend 2014). The activities aim at: improving/maintaining the optimal nutritional health of community, promotion of health as well as disease prevention which may include rehabilitative and therapeutic services, using multiple and co-ordinated strategies to influence the community, organizations and individuals, and organizes as well as integrates community nutrition determinations with leadership offered by state and health agencies (Townsend 2014).

Community nutrition involves four integrative steps; identification of community nutrition problem(s), a plan to meet the community nutrition needs implementation of the plan to develop system to reduce the problem and evaluation to check whether the problem has been solved.

Importance of Understanding Nutritional Health in A Community

A good nutrition is a goal for all individuals as nutrition affects health from conception to old age. Adequate nutrition is more essential especially during periods of growth and development. Poor nutrition during pregnancy, childhood and adolescent stages leads to stunted, physical, mental and social developments which can be for a lifetime (Mason et al., 2006).

Excesses in dietary leads to development of obesity, coronary diseases, some types of cancer, stroke and type 2-diabetes (Mason et al., 2006).

Balanced diet is a requirement for maternal mothers and infants. Attention has shifted to preconception concerns such as intake of folic acid. Breastfeeding for the first the first of the lifetime of an infant is recommended. Nutrition at childhood affects growth and development, immune system, social and cognitive ability of children. Children with special health need requires special nutritional intake.

Vulnerable subgroups of a population are at high risk of nutritional problems. These groups of people include low income earners, racial and ethnic minority groups and persons with functional impairments (disabilities).They experience preventable illness leading to premature death. Economically challenged persons experience food insecurity leading to undernutrition.t is a challenge to nutrition providers to reach such people with accessible and culturally relevant nutritional programs and service (Mason et al., 2006).

Guiding a population to healthy diets and optimum nutritional status is quite challenging. It is better started early enough to reduce development of diseases. The challenge can be curbed by introducing behavior change strategies inclusive of food and nutrition education and information. Other strategies may include improving the availability of vegetable and fruits, modifying ingredients and food preparation techniques to reduce fat contents and enacting legislations such as nutritional labels on packed foods (Mason et al., 2006).

There is a wide range of providers that can ensure the needed community nutrition programs and services reach the target population and its subgroups. This group of people includes government, organizations, professional community nutritionists and volunteers. A well-integrated effort by the above would ensure that the nutritional needs and interests are within the reach of the target population and that the programs are accessible and culturally oriented (Mason et al., 2006).

References

Bhutta, Z. A., Das, J. K., Rizvi, A., Gaffey, M. F., Walker, N., Horton, S., ... & Maternal and Child Nutrition Study Group. (2013). Evidence-based interventions for improvement of maternal and child nutrition: what can be done and at what cost?. The Lancet, 382(9890), 452-477.

Mason, J. B., Sanders, D., Musgrove, P., & Galloway, R. (2006). Community Health and Nutrition Programs.

Townsend, M. C. (2014). Psychiatric mental health nursing: Concepts of care in evidence-based practice. FA Davis.