Note

POLITICS OF NUTRITION Lecture 10- 26 January 2017  

Canada Domestically   Take surveys and decide what to promote or Having decided what to promote take a survey to see if recommendations are being followed

Promoting Nutritional Health during the preschool years a) Enable parents and child care providers to provide a healthy diet to pre-school children:   Provide a healthful variety of foods recommended in Canada’s food guide and in amounts appropriate to the needs of the individual preschooler Apply moderation

a) Enable parents and child care providers to provide a healthy diet to pre-school children: Gradual transition of milk pre-dominant foods to family foods   Help pre-schoolers determine the quantity of the food they eat Allow small amounts of food all through day as is their want

Enable parents and child care providers to provide a healthy diet to pre-school children: Set up routine and structure in daily eating patterns   Encourage healthy body weight Encourage physical activity and limit sedentary time

Enable parents and child care providers to provide a healthy diet to pre-school children: Consult physician when abnormal growth, development and eating patterns persist   Protect against choking and food poisoning Avoid mineral and vitamin supplements

b) Help parents and child care providers to foster food attitudes and eating practices which promote health:   Establish a positive feeding relationship which sets reasonable limits while supporting the development of the preschooler’s food preferences and food choice skills Make available and offer a variety of nutritious foods within the framework of the family’s cultural heritage and resources

b) Help parents and child care providers to foster food attitudes and eating practices which promote health: Offer foods appropriate to the developmental readiness of the pre-schooler to enable gradual transition from infant to family foods   Identify and respond to cues from the preschooler that indicate when the child is hungry or satisfied- remember appetite varies at this age range

b) Help parents and child care providers to foster food attitudes and eating practices which promote health: Encourage self-feeding Respect choices while monitoring them   Act as a role model Provide social environment that encourages enjoyment of food

b) Help parents and child care providers to foster food attitudes and eating practices which promote health: Avoid food as a control tool   Allow child to learn about nature of food and to value its role in health Allow child to discuss health claims

c) Further development of programmes and policies which advance nutritional health for preschool population:   Recognise that accessible affordable, personally acceptable and nutritionally adequate foods are essential to support the growth development and health of preschoolers Direct nutrition programmes to parents and preschoolers considering that economic, social or environmental deprivation or physical and mental handicaps play a role in nutrition

c) Further development programmes and policies which advance nutritional health for preschool population: Considerations in health assessment-the issues of family, community and society which are opportunities for or barriers to good nutrition   Support efforts by health professionals to identify those children aged 2 years and older for major diet-related chronic diseases so that age-appropriate action may be taken to decrease risk in later life

Surveys   Clinical Anthropometric Dental Dietary

Dietary surveys 24 hour recall   frequency of certain foods over last month not told in advance of dietary questions- benefit children under 12 accompanied by mothers or those responsible for their meals and children 6-12 participate in the interview

Canada-foreign   Canadian GMOs and Europe -frankenstein food -will create disease by altering human genome and hence viral genome or allow disease by suppressing immune response

Canadian GMOs and Europe -will alter the genome of human consumers   -will lose wholesomeness of natural (original food) -hurts Canadian economy

Canada-foreign Fish-protection of cod and other fish stocks from foreign fisherman (200 mile territorial limit)   -periodically foreign fishing vessels get caught in territorial waters- boats and/or fish confiscated -protection of Canada’s food supply

Fish- Ottawa versus St John’s -merging of federal versus provincial

Next lecture -Provincial/Local politics

Note Integration of obesity epidemic and food security

Lecture 11-26 January 2017   Provincial/Local Politics of Nutrition

Nutrition for Health-The Nova Scotia Agenda for Action Nova Scotians are meeting daily nutrient intake requirements BUT:   -higher risk of cancer and atherosclerosis-is this Cape Breton’s fault? -great percentage are overweight (44 %) -~ 80 % of population derived more than 30 % of dietary energy from fat

-24 % of young women (18-24) of low or normal body weight are trying to lose weight   -62 % of mother’s breastfeed compared to 75 % national average

In 1995 Nova Scotians participating in this agenda for action decided to:       reinforce healthy eating patterns       support nutritionally vulnerable populations continue to enhance the availability of foods that support healthy eating        support nutrition research

There are 8 actions directed toward these 4 strategic directions   1) reinforce healthy eating patterns -work to make nutrition services a part of everyday community-based health services -work to make quality nutrition education and quality daily physical activity part of school programmes

1) reinforce healthy eating patterns -work with the media to ensure that the public receives responsible information on healthy eating and physical activity -work to protect and promote breast feeding influencing public and hospital policy and support breast feeding in Nova Scotia’s communities

2)support nutritionally vulnerable populations   -work with social policy decision makers to address the nutritional needs of vulnerable people -work to provide families with the support they need to feed their children healthy foods

3)continue to enhance the availability of foods that support healthy eating   work with restaurants, cafeterias, and other places where people eat to make more healthy food choices available

4)support nutrition research   work to develop a data base of the factors or indicators which affect nutritional status and food practices, including social, economic, cultural and educational data

Goal: To improve the health of Nova Scotians through coordinated ongoing action: Based on the principles of: Partnerships Networking Sustained action Sharing and Learning

What is being done locally ? Dietitians Objective: All staff able to integrate healthy eating messages into the work with the public and into their own lifestyles by:   Providing staff with nutrition-healthy eating updates Continuing to encourage all public health staff to integrate healthy eating messages throughout all programme areas

Provincial vs Local politics   Lobster-Burnt Church-Conflict Mi’kmaq want to govern themselves regarding lobster stocks Ottawa and New Brunswick disagree

RCMP have engaged in armed conflict   Provincial fishery officers have gathered evidence What is the solution to this?

English-Wabigoon river in Ontario and mercury   The Whitedog reserve is located in Northwestern Ontario in the Dryden and Kenora area. In 1970 residents of the Whitedog First Nation and the nearby Grassy Narrows First Nation, were told that the English-Wabigoon river system on which they lived was seriously contaminated with mercury. The source of this contamination was the Reed Paper Company, situated in Dryden, some 90 kilometers away.

Several members of the band suffered permanent disabilities due to mercury poisoning. The situation also led to the closure of the Ball Lake Lodge with the loss of about 100 jobs for the community and the closure of the commercial fishery with the loss of over 30 jobs.

Mercury is a toxic substance affecting the central nervous system and symptoms include numbness of the extremities, difficulty in hand movements and in grasping things, lack of coordination, tremors and speech, sight and hearing disturbances.  

At the Whitedog First Nation there are still severe restrictions on fishing for both native anglers and tourists and these restrictions are likely to continue for several decades. Unemployment on the reserve runs at about 80% and significant social problems have also resulted.