Nutrition in Children and Young People Essay
Nutrition in Children and Young People
Within this essay I am going to discuss nutrition in children. The definition of nutrition is (Oxford, 2013) the process of providing or obtaining food necessary for growth and development. I will consider why nutrition is important; looking at how it benefits children, how we get nutrients from food and what nutrients we get from our food, as well as looking at a balanced diet. I will then focus my research down into looking at breastfeeding and the composition of breast milk as well as looking at the advantages and disadvantages of breastfeeding a baby.
The reason for wanting to focus my research on nutrition is because it is something within the NHS that we are always looking to improve on, it states in the NMC code that we must make the care of people our first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity (NMC, 2008). It is the patients right to have access to nutritious food whilst under the care of the hospital they are in, this is why it is important to know what foods are nutritious in order to comply with the code.
I then wanted to consider breastfeeding, as mothers are encouraged to breastfeed their children as it provides their baby with all the nutrients they need and is one of the healthiest ways to feed a child (Department of Health (DoH, 2010).
In order to comply with the NMC code within this essay I will not identify anyone by name as (NMC, 2008) it is important to respect people’s rights to confidentiality.
According to Parahoo (2006, p. 8) research is finding out information into a new happening, or collects additional information into something we already know about, to help confirm or reject the information on what we know already. It is important that we do research into any topic so that we can provide up to date evidence that backs our own knowledge. Research creates a significant part of nursing as the NMC guidelines (NMC, 2010) state that “You must deliver care based on
Within this essay I am going to discuss nutrition in children. The definition of nutrition is (Oxford, 2013) the process of providing or obtaining food necessary for growth and development. I will consider why nutrition is important; looking at how it benefits children, how we get nutrients from food and what nutrients we get from our food, as well as looking at a balanced diet. I will then focus my research down into looking at breastfeeding and the composition of breast milk as well as looking at the advantages and disadvantages of breastfeeding a baby.
The reason for wanting to focus my research on nutrition is because it is something within the NHS that we are always looking to improve on, it states in the NMC code that we must make the care of people our first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity (NMC, 2008). It is the patients right to have access to nutritious food whilst under the care of the hospital they are in, this is why it is important to know what foods are nutritious in order to comply with the code.
I then wanted to consider breastfeeding, as mothers are encouraged to breastfeed their children as it provides their baby with all the nutrients they need and is one of the healthiest ways to feed a child (Department of Health (DoH, 2010).
In order to comply with the NMC code within this essay I will not identify anyone by name as (NMC, 2008) it is important to respect people’s rights to confidentiality.
According to Parahoo (2006, p. 8) research is finding out information into a new happening, or collects additional information into something we already know about, to help confirm or reject the information on what we know already. It is important that we do research into any topic so that we can provide up to date evidence that backs our own knowledge. Research creates a significant part of nursing as the NMC guidelines (NMC, 2010) state that “You must deliver care based on
References: Alderson, P., 2001. On doing Qualitative Research Linked to Ethical Healthcare. London: The Wellcome Trust. Aubrey, S., Bentley, D., Bentley, M., 2004. Infant Feeding and Nutrition for Primary Care. Oxon: Radcliffe Publishing Ltd. Biancuzzo, M., 2003. Breastfeeding the Newborn Clinical Strategies for Nurses. 2nd ed. St. Louis: Mosby Boyer, K., 2012 British Nutrition Foundation, 2012. What are nutrients?. [online] Available at: [Accessed 29 March 2013] Coxall, K., Dawes, E., Forsyth, E., Lloyd, H., 2008 Department of Health, 2009. Healthy Child Programme. [pdf] London: Department of Health. Available at: [Accessed 27 April 2013] Department of Health, 2010 Department of Health, 2010, The Pregnancy Book. [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 20 April 2013] Department of Health, 2012 Department of Health, 2013. Giving all Children a Healthy Start in Life. [online Available at: [Accessed 20 April 2013] Ellis, E., 2010 Food Standards Agency, 2007. The Balance of Good Health. [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 1 April 2013] Holden, C., MacDonald, A., 2000 Infant and Toddler Forum, 2013. Healthy Eating for Toddlers: Toddler Feeding Time. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 April 2013] Maternity Action, 2012 Metzger, M., McDade, T., 2009. Breastfeeding as Obesity Prevention in the United States: A Sibling Difference Model, American journal of Human Biology, [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 April 2013] NHS, 2012 NHS, 2012. Mastitis. [online] Available at: [Accessed 7 May 2013] NHS, 2012, Why Breastfeed? NMC, 2010. The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. [online] Available at: [Accessed 27 March 2013] NMC, 2010 Oxford, 2008. Oxford Minidictionary for Nurses. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Parahoo, K., 2006. Nursing Research Principles, Process and Issues. 2nd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Richards, S., 2011. Weight management through the development of a healthy lifestyle. Nursing Standard, [archive] 21 (2), pp.22-24, Available through: Nursing Standard website [Accessed 20 April 2013] Ruff, A.J., 1994 Thibodeau, G., Patton, K., 2012. Structure and Function of the Body. 14th ed. St. Louis: Elsevier Mosby. Thompson, J., 1998. Nutritional Requirements of Infants and Young Children. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd. Von Kries, R., 1999. Breast feeding and obesity: cross sectional study. British Medical journal, [archive] 319(7203), pp.147-150. Available through: British Medical Journal website [Accessed 3 May 2013] World Health Organisation, 2002