7 September 2022 10:02 am Views - 899
The rise in COVID-19 virus, current economic crisis and lack of awareness about nutrition, the country is witnessing a greater change in nutritional status among children who are lesser than five-years-old and an increase in malnutrition, Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) Consultant Pediatrician Dr. Deepal Perera said.
Addressing the media, he said general malnutrition and malnutrition level have also increased. Meanwhile, the children with skinny posture bear witness to this, he said.
"This situation can affect our country in the long run," he said. If children suffer from malnutrition, they will not be able to continue with their studies and there is a possibility that they would be infected with many diseases," Dr. Perera said.
The details were revealed during an investigation conducted at the LRH.
Dr. Perera expressed that malnutrition set in when parents started giving them fast foods. At least 100 children are down with diabetes and nearly 900 with some types of cancer are reported every year.
Therefore, the doctor advised the parents to avoid giving fast foods and requested to provide healthy foods while moving to the old healthy food patterns that people used to have in rural areas for generations. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)