It has been found that 58 per cent new born babies in Bangladesh are underweight as the mothers suffer from poor calorie intakes during the child bearing period. The malnutrition of mothers and children do not end there. It continues after birth with the result that neither the mother or the children–the future citizens of the country– quite grow up into healthy adults . Such young adults are not to be considered as possessing enough vitality to contribute gainfully to the workforce of the country.
The workforce is ready to perform at optimum level when its members are physically free from handicaps and mentally enjoy a similar state. But unfortunately, too many in the workforce in Bangladesh fall short on both counts and certainly this does not augur well for its economy . According to one estimate, monetary loss to the economy due to malnutrition could reach up to billions of US dollars for Bangladesh in the next 10 years.
Therefore, attention to nutrition issues and programmes to improve the nutritional picture assume critical importance and these ought to be essentially looked at from the perspective of setting the stage for economic growth and development and nothing short.
It is ironical that at a time when Bangladesh has been experiencing bumper harvests for consecutive years, so many mothers should be undernourished to give birth to emaciated children or 25 per cent of the population are consuming less than 1800 calories per day and 15 per cent less than 2160 calories per day. The problem, thus, lies not in production of food but in food availability for the poor at prices they can afford.
Addressing of the malnutrition issue would clearly require improving the purchasing power of about 30 per cent of the poor and very poor in the population who are malnourished because they do not have the resources to buy adequate food.
The above picture of malnutrition in the country should underline the importance of greater activity in this sphere. But government is yet to put into implementation any appropriate plan of action in this vital area of concern. Government should have a plan going to selectively contribute to nutrition of specially vulnerable groups such as children. Through the publicly run health networks and publicities in the mass media it can be tried to disseminate information to the poor that they can get ample nutrition from consuming cheap but inexpensive food regularly such as from seasonal vegetables and locally available fruits. Vitamin supplements can be distributed free of costs or at nominal prices through the public health networks among the poor and the ultra poor. In publicly run schools at junior level, it may be planned to provide at least one nutritionally rich meal to the young ones . This would also likely help in preventing drop outs from schools.
Other ways and means may also be thought out and implemented to make an impact on the nutrition scene. The costs of the above measures would not be so prohibitive that government would not be able to introduce and run them sustainably.
There are also other aspects to the nutrition issues in our country. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) report estimated sometimeago that 44 percent of all deaths annually in Bangladesh are linked to chronic diseases. The increasing trend of chronic diseases have been regarded as a result of changing lifestyles related to food intake, less physical activity and growing tobacco use and air pollution.
The forces of globalization over the last few decades have not only made our markets and economies more interdependent but also virtually linked with people all over the world through easy modes of cultural exchange, such as: internet, movies, tourism, education, etc. All these process all together changed people’s perception, attitude and behaviour while the open markets cater to our new type of needs in the form of importing and selling variety of western products like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), pizza, burger, sugary and fizzy drinks, etc.
Besides, local brands of fast-foods are also being popularized through rigorous marketing, promotion and advertising. The growth and popularization of fast foods are causing abundant intake of risky foods with little nutrition value. In this respect people’s perception regarding being ‘smart’ plays a critical role for example: now-a-days a person is regarded smart if he/ she chooses burger over home made foods. These junk foods cause people not to eat a proper balanced diet; instead people consume large amounts of fat and calories.
Another impact of globalization is the proliferation of computers, televisions, video games and other various forms of electronic entertainment which is making people devoid of physical activity. Advancement of technology means less physical work is needed and electronic means of entertainment lead children, adolescents an even adults to spending more and more of their time in front of the TV, computers and playing video games rather than involving in activities demanding more physical engagement. Consequently, more and more children, adolescents and adults are suffering obesity and other forms of chronic diseases.
Further, sleeping late in the night has become a regular feature for the young generation of the country. This has become a practice as people remain busy with Internet and social networking sites, movies, video games, etc. The consequences of this tendency are taking a grave toll in health causing different types of sicknesses related to lack of sleep.
As chronic diseases have emerged as major health hazards for the people of Bangladesh, massive information, education and communication campaign should be carried out to make mass people aware of the possible grave outcomes of continuing the lifestyles that they are adopting in place of the far healthier lifestyles of the past.
