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Analysing the
Impact of Dietary Patterns on Health of Children in India |
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| Paper Id :
18620 Submission Date :
2024-02-04 Acceptance Date :
2024-02-16 Publication Date :
2024-02-25
This is an open-access research paper/article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.10848612 For verification of this paper, please visit on
http://www.socialresearchfoundation.com/remarking.php#8
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| Abstract |
Children are most important asset for a country as they
decide next generation and future to be achieved. Post Covid resilience insists
researchers to check the health and wellbeing of children .As it is prominent
fact that dietary pattern plays important role in overall growth and
development of the child. In this way, it is critical to investigate the impact
of dietary patterns on health of the children as many factors influencing the
food habits and the quality of diets. The general make-up and arrangement of
the foods that people or groups consume is the subject of dietary patterns
research. Beyond focusing on specific nutrients, dietary patterns take a more
comprehensive approach by highlighting the interactions between various foods
and food groups. In this study, empirical testing will be conducted to check
the relationship and various dimensions of dietary patterns and health of the
children. Findings of the study will be useful in making policy to support the
families which cannot afford such diets or make the mass aware of the
sustainable dietary choices among the children. Recommendations of this study
can be further used to research with more new variables and context. |
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| Keywords | Dietary patterns, Health of Children, Food, Nutrients, Empirical. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduction | Dietary habits
are very important for children's health and wellbeing. The following are some
effects of eating habits on kids' health: 1.1 Nutrient
Intake: Essential
nutrients required for growth and development are provided by a balanced diet.
For optimum health, children require sufficient amounts of protein, carbs,
fats, vitamins, and minerals. Nutrient imbalances or inadequacies brought on by
improper eating habits can harm the immune system, growth, and cognitive
development. 1.2 Weight
management: Childhood
obesity is a result of unhealthy eating habits, which include consuming large
amounts of fast food, sugary drinks, and processed snacks. Numerous health
issues, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and joint issues are made more
likely by obesity. Promoting good eating practices at an early age can aid in
the prevention of obesity and the health problems that go along with it. 1.3 Cognitive
Function: A child's brain
growth and cognitive function depend on receiving a healthy diet. Diets high in
vitamins, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with enhanced
behavior, memory, and cognitive function. On the other hand, diets heavy in
saturated fats and refined sugars may worsen cognitive abilities and raise the
risk of behavioral disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD). 1.4 Bone Health: Building strong bones and avoiding
diseases like osteoporosis later in life require an adequate intake of calcium,
vitamin D, and other nutrients. Youngsters who eat a diet deficient in these
nutrients have an increased risk of fractures and weak bones. 1.5 Immune
System Function: For the immune
system to work effectively, it needs a number of minerals, including zinc,
selenium, and the vitamins A, C, and E. A balanced diet lowers the risk of
infections and diseases in children by promoting a strong immune system. On the
other hand, malnutrition impairs immunity, increasing a child's vulnerability
to infections. 1.6 Mental
Health: An increasing
body of research indicates that food habits may have an impact on children's
mental health outcomes. While diets heavy in processed foods, sweets, and
unhealthy fats may raise the risk of mental health disorders, diets high in
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins are linked to lower rates
of anxiety and depression. 1.7 Long-term Health: Childhood-developed eating patterns frequently carry over into adulthood. Healthy eating habits are more likely to be maintained by children as they get older, which lowers their chance of developing chronic illnesses including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancer. |
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| Objective of study | 1. To explore various
facets of dietary patterns of Children.
2. To analyze the impact of dietary patterns on Health of
Children in India. |
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| Review of Literature | In a study
conducted by Rafaela Liberali, Emil Kupek, and Maria Alice Altenburg de
Assis (2020), It results that the risk of becoming obese should be
decreased by eating a diet lower in obesogenic foods. It guides the concern for
dietary pattern management when children are innocent about food choices and
they have less concern for nutrients. Six nutritional components were
linked to socioeconomic status, indicating that food patterns were socially
patterned. Additionally, children born to adolescent mothers, those exclusively
breastfed for less than a month, and those who began supplemental feeding
before four months of age were linked to higher intakes of snacks and treats
and lower intakes of fruits and vegetables. Lastly, six-year-old overweight and
obese children showed lower intake of four of the seven dietary components, but
one can interpret these findings cautiously because of reporting restrictions
on food consumption and the possibility of reverse causality (Santos et
al., 2016). The overall high prevalence of poor dietary diversity and the
relatively slight differences by socioeconomic class (SES) necessitate those
interventions aimed at improving food consumption and diversified dietary
intake among Indian children be universal in their targeting (Agrwal et al.,
2019). In adulthood,
diet and body composition play a significant role in influencing the risk of
chronic diseases. Studying nutrition habits in childhood may offer a chance to
treat and prevent chronic disease, as research suggests that dietary patterns
"track" from childhood to adulthood. On the other hand, not much is
currently known about Indian children's eating habits. Research on the
relationships between dietary patterns and body composition in children from
Europe has shown that "snacking" and "energy dense" habits
are linked to increased fat mass and overweight (Dunn et al., 2000; Shetty
2002; Mikkila et al., 2005; Johnson et al. 2008; Lioret et al. 2008; Misra et
al. 2011; Kehoe et al.,2014).
There is a
wealth of research indicating that eating habits in children impact the
development of caries. Although cross-section studies account for a large
portion of this evidence, it is acknowledged that the development of caries is
a gradual process, and an individual's caries status may be influenced by their
eating habits at a younger age. The difficulty in performing such longitudinal
investigations is reflected in the paucity of published studies that link early
dietary patterns to the development of caries later on (Lakhanpa et
al.,2014). |
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| Methodology | A mixed method
approach has been adopted in this research. Primary date has been collected
through structured questionnaire, interview and specific observations.
Secondary data in the form of published articles and journals have been
considered to get insights on the research question (Research Guides:
Public Health Research Guide: Primary & Secondary Data Definitions,
2024). Sample size is 393. The target respondents were parents. |
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| Sampling |
Sample size is 393. Convivence Sampling was used.
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| Analysis | Testing of
Hypothesis H10 Table-1 Correlation
Table
Two sets of
statistics, r (correlation coefficient) and p (p-value), are displayed in this
correlation analysis table showing the association between children's health
and parents' response to dietary patterns. Correlation
Value This number
represents the direction and degree of the linear link between children's
health and parents' responses about their dietary patterns. Positive and strong
association is shown by the coefficient of 0.56. Essentially, this indicates
that children's health tends to rise in tandem with parents' increased response
to eating patterns. p-Value The hypothesis
that the correlation in the population is substantially different from zero is
tested by this number. A p-value of less than 0.05 is often regarded as
statistically significant in research. The correlation found (r = 0.56) is
unlikely to be the result of chance, as indicated by the p-value of <.001
being less than 0.05 in this instance. As a result, you can be very certain
that the parents' response to their dietary pattern and the health of their
children are statistically related.A significant association was found (r(391)
= 0.56, p <.001) between Parents' Response on Dietry Pattern and Children's
Health, according to the Pearson correlation analysis. Testing of
Hypothesis H20 Model Summary Table-2
ANOVA Table-3
The findings
for each independent variable in the model, including the constant (intercept),
are displayed in this table. For every unit increase in the corresponding
independent variable, the predicted change in the dependent variable Children
Health is shown by the unstandardized coefficient B. To investigate
the impact of the variables Parents Response on diet pattern, Diet Ensure
Positive Health, and Diet Ensure Mental Strength on the variable Children
Health, a multiple linear regression analysis was carried out. This is how the
Model Summary should be understood. The correlation
coefficient, or R, R is the
correlation between the model's predictions based on the independent variables
and the observed values of the dependent variable, children's health. The
observed values and the model's prediction have a very strong positive
correlation, as indicated by the R value of 0.83. R², or
R-squared R2 is the
percentage of the dependent variable's variation that the regression model's
independent variables can account for. With an R2 of 0.7, your model's
independent variables account for 69.51% of the variation in your dependent
variable. Put another way, the independent factors may be used to predict
69.51% of the change in children's health. The R2 value is
modified by adjusted R-squared, which takes into account the number of
variables and observations in the model. A measure with numerous independent
variables is more accurate. In this case, it indicates that around 69.28% of
the variation in the dependent variable is explained after controlling for the
number of predictors. According to
the regression model, 69.51% of the variation in the variable Children Health
could be explained by the factors Parents Response on Dietary Pattern, Diet
Ensure Positive Health, and Diet Ensure Mental Strength. To determine if this
number deviated substantially from zero, an ANOVA was employed. The effect was
shown to be substantially different from zero using the current sample
(F=295.65, p = <.001, R2 = 0.7). The following
regression model is obtained through data analysis: Children Health
= 0.06 + 0.18 · Parents Response on dietary pattern +
0.05 · Diet Ensure Positive Health + 0.71 · Diet Ensure Mental
Strength |
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| Findings |
Present study
suggests that children's health tends to rise in tandem with parents' increased
response to eating patterns. It offers insight that there is a linkage of
dietary pattern on children’s health. It shows relevance of dietary pattern for
improving health conditions in children. Second, finding of this study
emphasizes that there is a significant influence of dietary pattern on
children’s health. |
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| Conclusion |
Present study highlights the importance and linkages of
dietary pattern on ensuring children’s health and positive health outcomes.
Findings can be utilized to frame adequate policy to channelize different
stakeholders who can contribute to making a strong dietary choices and
availability of nutrias food options to the children. Literature part explain
the various facets which can be further utilized to make extension of this
empirical investigation in knowing more in-depth and grounded reality of food
and children’s wellness. In a country like India, the need is to focus on
policy development which caters regional balances in terms of ensuring nutrias
food supplies to various communities specially the mid-day meal scheme must be
linked with dietary pattern suitable for school children. |
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