Nutrition: - Signifies a dynamic process in which the food that is consumed is utilized for nourishing the body, is called nutrition.
The term Nutrition is derived from Nourish which implies the food consumed by us and all the reactions through which it is utilized for physical growth, energy and better health.
Relationship of nutrition to health:- The relationship between nutrition and health can be clarified on the basis of the following points:-
1 - Physical and mental growth:- Nutrition is essential for the physical and mental development and day to day energy requirement in the human life span from childhood to old age.
2 - Specific Nutritional Diseases:- The root cause behind the protein calorie malnutrition, goiter, anaemia , nutritional blindness, dysentery are different- nutritional problems. There health problem can be tackled by altering or balancing the diet.
Immunity:- Due to mal nutrition resistance of an individual decreases while susceptibility to infection increases.
Maternal child and family health:- The health of the vulnerable section of the community (expectant mothers and children under 14 yrs of age) is directly and closely related to nutrition. Nutrition is an important factor in high maternal and infant mortality.
Non-communicable diseases:- Mostly mal nutrition is responsible for communicable diseases while many studies indicate that disease like diabetes, CHD, Hypertension and cancer also have relation with nutritional upsets.
Primary health case:- For the achievement Health for all nutrition is one, out of the eight components of primary health care which prove the importance of nutrition in health.
In short, it can be said that health and nutrition cannot be separated.