Although growing bodies need plenty of energy in the form of calories, many children and teenagers consume way too many, says Ruth Frechman, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. The latest findings from federal surveys show that 18% of adolescents and teenagers are fatter than they should be. Kids who are obese are 16 times more likely than healthy weight children to become obese as adults, other findings show.
Energy and protein supplementation was most often associated with weight gain of women, and often targeted pregnant women with suboptimal weight. For pregnant women, energy and protein supplementation modestly increased maternal weight (86–90). Other maternal outcomes were not frequently reported, and were often secondary objectives of protein-energy supplementation interventions (33, 88). Many studies reported on infant health outcomes, including reductions in low birth weight and preterm births (19, 89–91). Adequate energy and protein intake was also relevant for interventions targeting the prevention of excessive gestational weight gain of overweight and obese pregnant women. These interventions restricted dietary energy intake of overweight women during pregnancy and resulted in reduced excess weight gain during pregnancy but had no impact on pregnancy-related hypertension and pre-eclampsia (19, 88).
All of the identified studies focused on LNSs for pregnant and lactating women through antenatal care–based and –affiliated delivery platforms (97–101). These studies relied on antenatal care to recruit mothers but delivered the intervention through home visits. There was no evidence evaluating use of LNSs for women who were not pregnant or lactating. The majority of studies evaluating LNS interventions involved children with severe or moderate acute malnutrition. Although LNS supplementation could be an intervention to provide essential nutrients to women and girls, it is expensive. Filling energy gaps using local foods or other commodities can often be done at a lower cost (97). LNS supplementation should be limited to contexts in which cheaper, more sustainable solutions are not available.
A number of health and medical research advocates, such as the Society for Women's Health Research in the United States, support this broader definition, rather than merely issues specific to human female anatomy to include areas where biological sex differences between women and men exist. Women also need health care more and access the health care system more than do men. While part of this is due to their reproductive and sexual health needs, they also have more chronic non-reproductive health issues such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental illness, diabetes and osteoporosis. Another important perspective is realising that events across the entire life cycle (or life-course), from in utero to aging effect the growth, development and health of women. The life-course perspective is one of the key strategies of the World Health Organization.
^ Jump up to: a b c Aldridge, Robert W.; Story, Alistair; Hwang, Stephen W.; Nordentoft, Merete; Luchenski, Serena A.; Hartwell, Greg; Tweed, Emily J.; Lewer, Dan; Vittal Katikireddi, Srinivasa (2017-11-10). "Morbidity and mortality in homeless individuals, prisoners, sex workers, and individuals with substance use disorders in high-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis". Lancet. 391 (10117): 241–250. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31869-X. ISSN 1474-547X. PMC 5803132. PMID 29137869. All-cause standardised mortality ratios were significantly increased in 91 (99%) of 92 extracted datapoints and were 11·86 (95% CI 10·42–13·30; I2=94·1%) in female individuals