Dietary Interventions And Nutritional Factors In The Prevention Of Allergic Diseases In Infants

Nutrition and Allergic Diseases.

Over the past 20 years, public concerns have grown in response to the apparent rising prevalence of food allergy and related atopic conditions, such as eczema. Although evidence on the true prevalence of food allergy is complicated by insufficient or inconsistent data and studies with variable methodologies, many health care experts who care for patients agree that a real increase in food allergy has occurred and that it is unlikely to be due simply to an increase in awareness and better tools for diagnosis. Many stakeholders are concerned about these increases, including the general public, policy makers, regulatory agencies, the food industry, scientists, clinicians, and especially families of children and young people suffering from food allergy. At the present time, however, despite a mounting body of data on the prevalence, health consequences, and associated costs of food allergy, this chronic disease has not garnered the level of societal attention that it warrants. Moreover, for patients and families at risk, recommendations and guidelines have not been clear about preventing exposure or the onset of reactions or for managing this disease. Finding a Path to Safety in Food Allergy examines critical issues related to food allergy, including the prevalence and severity of food allergy and its impact on affected individuals, families, and communities; and current understanding of food allergy as a disease, and in diagnostics, treatments, prevention, and public policy. This report seeks to: clarify the nature of the disease, its causes, and its current management; highlight gaps in knowledge; encourage the implementation of management tools at many levels and among many stakeholders; and delineate a roadmap to safety for those who have, or are at risk of developing, food allergy, as well as for others in society who are responsible for public health.

0

There is no other time in life when the provision of adequate and balanced nutrition is of greater importance than during infancy and childhood. During this dynamic phase characterized by rapid growth, development and developmental plasticity, a sufficient amount and appropriate composition of nutrients both in health and disease are of key importance for growth, functional outcomes such as cognition and immune response, and the metabolic programming of long-term health and well-being. This compact reference text provides concise information to readers who seek quick guidance on practical issues in the nutrition of infants, children and adolescents. After the success of the first edition, which sold more than 50'000 copies in several languages, the editors prepared this thoroughly revised and updated second edition which focuses again on nutritional challenges in both affluent and poor populations around the world. Serving as a practical reference guide, this book will contribute to further improving the quality of feeding of healthy infants and children, as well as enhancing the standards of nutritional care in sick children.

The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in nutrition are at the core of this book, with special attention to young women and their children. The first part is dedicated to the overall analysis of the world nutrition situation as related to achieving the MDG. The chapters cover the global distribution of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in young women and infants, and the disease burden related to it. The second part reviews the measures taken to achieve the MDG and the potential contributions of nutrition-specific and disease control interventions (particularly with regard to reducing child and maternal mortality), as well as the possible role of sectors other than health. The last part looks into the future, scrutinizing the causes and consequences of non-communicable disease in both the developing and developed world, as well as reviewing the latest scientific evidence for underlying mechanisms and discussing the implications for public health and policy makers.

The 57th Nestlé Pediatric Nutrition Workshop assembled a panel of leading international scientists in order to assess and extend the current state of knowledge on the long-term effects of early nutrition. Prevention of diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer and the metabolic syndrome, by early nutrition intervention is the declared goal of this kind of research. Single papers deal with dietary effects on mental and motor impairment, the epidemical aspects of obesity, the complexity of the relationship between birth weight and adult BMI, the importance for primary prevention in childhood diabetes, the potential of nutritional prevention of osteoporosis, the nutritional key influences on cancer, and the surprising link between cancer and obesity, and many more. Complex, multifaceted and contradictory health outcomes of early nutrition elements clearly show that genetic or environmental interactions have to be taken into account, and compromises have to be found to establish a good balance of risks and benefits for the wide range of different health issues which depend on nutrition and early nutrition in particular.