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Our speaker last week was Dr. Raquel Pitter-Curry. Dr. Curry spoke on the topic "The impact of nutrition on childhood development." She said that childhood development was a set of progressive changes that starts from conception and continues into early adulthood. The timing of when each change occurs may be different among different children but the sequence should be the same.
The changes encompass cognitive (intellectual) development, physical development, temperament, language, socio-emotional and motor development.
Some factors which affect childhood development are inherent and some aren't. There are also some differences by gender. Numerous factors can be positively impacted. Some factors which are inherent can be modified so that it is not as severe or the complications aren't severe. Dr. Pitter-Curry gave the example of diabetes and how we have a greater chance of inheriting it if our parents have diabetes. However, we can delay its onset, prevent its onset or reduce the complications by changing our environment (nutrition, exercise and play).
Dr. Curry focused on nutrition and said that there can be good nutrition and bad nutrition. Good nutrition has a positive impact on children. She gave insights into the types of foods children should eat and in which proportions to enable them to develop and function properly. Dr. Curry also broke this topic down further and spoke about the right nutrition for each age category. We got an overview of the six nutrients as well as the essential vitamins and minerals. The role of water and its use and importance in the body was also covered. Dr. Pitter-Curry described water as the most important nutrient.
Along with mentioning nutrition, Dr. Pitter-Curry spoke about how the body and brain grow and work and what the nutrients do for each area of the body. We got an in depth presentation on the importance of "good" nutrition for our children.
