Making sure our children eat a healthy diet reduces the chances of them suffering from a variety of illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis in later life. Recently, a study has shown that giving our children nutritious meals so they maintain a healthy weight could also protect their lung function.
Worldwide problem
Asthma doesn’t only affect children in the Western world; lots of people have it in many different countries. Health professionals target the condition in a similar way by issuing us with medication in the form of inhalers and giving us advice on avoiding asthma triggers. These can be varied and include dust mites, pollen, smoke and other pollutants in the atmosphere. The triggers set off a response in our body that restricts our airways making it very difficult to breathe when an asthma attack occurs.
Breathing experts in India recently conducted a study into the rates of childhood asthma in the city of Chandigarh, which revealed that the incidence of children being diagnosed with the disease has not decreased in recent years, despite health boards promoting treatments and activities we can all carry out to cut the severity of our conditions.
Asthma prevalence
Professor Meenu Singh was involved with the study, and explained that not sticking to medication and lack of control of allergens may explain why the rates of childhood asthma aren’t decreasing in some locations. She also explains that the research collected additional information on obesity in children, finding that seven per cent were obese. The health expert said that unhealthy diets may cause fatty acids to become unbalanced, which leads to issues with lung function and potential allergies. This gives us even more reason to ensure our children eat healthily, with professor Singh also highlighting how it could be beneficial to delay adding fish and eggs to a weaning child’s diet.
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