Pediatric Nutrition, Gastroenterology and Child Development

The diet provides adequate nutrition for the child of any developmental age and aids in establishing good eating habits. These are based on the basic food groups with considerations of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for age. Food group quantities may be divided to include between-meal snacks. The one-year old’s begin to show a decrement in appetite and interest in food which should not be interpreted as “poor” appetite but rather normal for this age with a decrease in growth rate. To ensure that the diet is adequate in nutrients, one should select the toddler’s food carefully. Whereas the nutritional needs during adolescence vary individually and according to gender. The period of greatest nutritional need coincides with the peak rate of growth during adolescence. The greatest need for girls is between 10 and 13-1/2 years, and for boys between 12 and 14-1/2 years. Since the growth and sequence of sexual development are related, it is useful to consider an adolescent’s state of maturation to assess nutritional needs accurately.

Breastfeeding offers many benefits to a baby. Breast milk contains the right balance of nutrients to help the infant grow strong and healthy. Some of the nutrients in breast milk also help protect infants against some common childhood illnesses and infections. It may also help mother's health. Certain types of cancer may occur less often in mothers who have breastfed their babies. Women who don't have health issues should try to give their babies breast milk for at least the first six months of life. 

Food Industry is a complex, global collective of diverse businesses that supply most of the food consumed by the world population. Only subsistence farmers, those who survive on what they grow, and hunter-gatherers can be considered outside of the scope of the modern food industry. The novel technologies in Food Science alter the Food Sector to reinforce the standard of the eatables and drinks. New food stuffs embrace Biotechnology primarily based strategies food product e.g. genetically modified food, Organic crops and food stuffs, super molecule based mostly diet. Hence, the food that we consume every day is the result of intensive food analysis, a scientific investigation into a spread of foods’ properties and compositions.

The aim of the study of pediatric gastroenterology is to reduce infant and child rate of deaths, control the spread of infectious disease, promote healthy lifestyles for a long disease-free life and help ease the problems of children and adolescents. It can be acknowledged that this can be reached by learning the major and primary subject on gastroenterology. It includes the treatments involved for the betterment of gastrointestinal health in children. Gastrointestinal Tract is an organ system responsible for transporting and digesting foodstuffs, absorbing nutrients, and expelling waste. Gastrointestinal motility is defined by the movements of the digestive system, and the transit of the contents within it. When nerves or muscles in any portion of the digestive tract do not function with their normal strength and coordination, a person develops symptoms related to motility problems.

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) arises initially during the process of gastrulation from the endoderm of the trilaminar embryo (week 3) and extends from the buccopharyngeal membrane to the cloacal membrane. The tract and associated organs later have contributions from all the germ cell layers. Digestion is the breakdown of food into smaller particles or individual nutrients. Obesity is the most prevalent nutritional disorder among children and adolescents in the United States. Approximately 21-24% of American children and adolescents are overweight, and another 16-18% is obese; the prevalence of obesity is highest among specific ethnic groups. Chronic abdominal pain(CAP) persists for more than 3 mo. either continuously or intermittently. Intermittent pain may be referred to as recurrent abdominal pain (RAP). CAP occurs any time after 5 years of age. Up to 10% of children require evaluation for RAP. 

Gastrointestinal defects affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract. This includes the esophagus that connects mouth with stomach, and stomach to intestines. Food travels through the tract after eating. Barrett's esophagus is a condition where the cells of the esophagus (gullet) grow abnormally. The biliary tract refers to the liver, gall bladder and bile ducts, and how they work together to make, store and secrete bile. Biliary disease often presents with upper abdominal pain. The pain quality is a penetrating aching or tightness, typically severe and located in the epigastrium. Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Appendicitis commonly presents with right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. Rumination syndrome, or Merycism, is a chronic motility disorder characterized by effortless regurgitation of most meals following consumption, due to the involuntary contraction of the muscles around the abdomen. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine.

Surgeons continue their efforts to improve their techniques to operate colorectal cancers. They now have a better understanding of what makes colorectal surgery more likely to be successful, such as making sure enough lymph nodes are removed during the operation. Esophageal cancer usually begins in the cells that line the inside of the esophagus. Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas an organ in your abdomen that lies horizontally behind the lower part of your stomach. Colorectal cancer is cancer that starts in the colon or rectum. The colon and the rectum are parts of the large intestine, which is the lower part of the body’s digestive system. Pancreatic cancer is aggressive with few symptoms until the cancer is advanced. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, weight loss, diarrhea, and jaundice. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Gallbladder cancer is a relatively uncommon cancer. If it is diagnosed early enough, it can be cured by removing the gallbladder, part of the liver and associated lymph nodes. Most often it is found after symptoms such as abdominal pain, jaundice and vomiting occur, and it has spread to other organs such as the liver.

Intussusception is the most common abdominal emergency affecting children under 2 years old. It happens when one portion of the bowel slides into the next, much like the pieces of a telescope. A hydrocele is a collection of fluid within the processes vaginalis (PV) that produces swelling in the inguinal region or scrotum. An inguinal hernia occurs when abdominal organs protrude into the inguinal canal or scrotum. Hirschsprung’s disease is a condition that affects the large intestine (colon) and causes problems with passing stool. Intussusception is the most common abdominal emergency affecting children under 2 years old. It happens when one portion of the bowel slides into the next. An inguinal hernia occurs in the groin area when fatty or intestinal tissues push through the inguinal canal. The inguinal canal resides at the base of the abdomen. Atresia is a condition in which an orifice or passage in the body is closed or absent. Examples of atresia include: Imperforate anus, malformation of the opening between the rectum and anus.

Understanding child development is essential because it allows us to completely appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and educational growth that children go through from birth to their early adulthood. There are five areas of child development: physical, social and emotional, approaches to learning, thinking, and communication and language.

Young children can be naughty, defiant and impulsive from time to time, which is very normal. However, some children have extremely difficult and challenging behavior’s that are outside the boundary for their age. The most common disruptive behavior disorders include oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These three behavioral disorders share common symptoms, so diagnosis is difficult and time consuming. A child or adolescent may have two disorders at the same time. Other outside factors can include emotional problems, mood disorders, family difficulties and substance abuse.

Children during early years of age undergo rapid growth and development that is greatly influenced by certain factors. Exclusive breastfeeding, adequate complementary feeding, stimulation, safe environment and care need to be ensured for optimum physical, mental, social and cognitive development. Children who have a good start in their life will be healthier adults resulting better life promoting Gross National Happiness.

Hepatology is a branch of medicine concerned with the study, prevention, diagnosis and management of diseases that affect the liver, gallbladder, biliary tree and pancreas. The term is derived from the Greek words hepaticas and logia, which mean liver and study. Wilson's disease or hepatolenticular degeneration is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in tissues; this manifests as neurological or psychiatric symptoms and liver disease. Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver. Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant (cancerous).

A Case Report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports contain a demographic profile of the patient and usually describes an unusual or novel occurrence. Some case reports also contain a literature review of other reported cases. The session includes discussion on Pediatric Gastroenterology, Neonatal Gastroenterology, Pediatric Gastrointestinal disorders, Pediatric hepatology, Pediatric Nutrition and Pediatric Surgery.

Safe, long-term parenteral nutrition was first inculcated new-born by the starting 1972. Since that time, it has subsidized vitally to the survival of many children around the world. Soon the new changes in the parenteral nutrition, however, it added a serious problem associated with it. Uniqueness in the characteristics of the neonatal has added to the implementation of the pediatrics nutrition in itself.

• Parental nutrition nursing
• Parental nutrition obesity
• Parental nutrition in chronic diseases
• Parental nutrition in behavioral health
• Parental nutrition in food allergies
• Nourishing a growing child
• Parental nutrition in eating disorders
• Parental nutrition in malnutrition