Improving Health down the Road
The statement “we are all born equal” has successfully been utilized in humanitarian campaigns all of which are geared towards mitigating inequality in the society. The statement has an obvious blind spot since people in the society are not equal in innumerable ways. This makes the statement superficial as obvious differences are observed in race, age, sex, education and income levels, etc. The concept “we are all born equal” health wise still holds being a logical fallacy as the obvious differences stated earlier present people with unequal opportunities. The deprivations posed by these differences culminate in permanent consequences whose impact holds even in adulthood. The consequence of the society holding onto this fallacy is that no efforts will be made to address the gaps in the society and alleviate the effects of differences to provide children disadvantaged by the societal differences and help them lead successful lives.
The developmental origins concept is predicated on the assumption that various factors acting during fetal life profoundly affect vulnerability to diseases at later stages of life (Gluckman, Hanson, & Mitchell, 2010). Nutrition is one of the ways the effect of adult morbidity is explained by the developmental theory. Variations in nutrition in early life are linked with birth phenotypes and have adverse consequences on adult health and well-being. There was an observed link between under-nutrition and later obesity and metabolic disorder risks (Gluckman et al., 2010). Low birth weight coupled with other factors which result in poor fetal growth such as mothers smoking during pregnancy are associated with obesity in adulthood and BMI gain (Power, Graham & Due, 2005). Maternal smoking during pregnancy and low birth weight are consistent with the developmental origins of life and health where BMI trajectories are in train and in response to environmental influences during early stages (Power et al., 2005).
Despite the consistent association of early child life ad adult morbidity, many questions remain about the contribution of childhood factors to adult morbidity. It is vital to note that the developmental origin concept is not the only determinant of susceptibility of adults to diseases. Given the malleable nature of human growth, one factor such as epigenetic change is insufficient for disease prediction. The specific factors need to be identified to be utilized as relevant markers in disease prediction. This is because a mere epigenetic variation does not predict long-term adverse effects and specific modifications need to be studied. Secondly, the factors may lead to more than one disease in a person’s lifetime. Focusing on one disease significantly underestimates the overall risk of the factor in question to adult dysfunctions. This is information which is required for effective disease prevention. Lastly, due to the wide nature of research required, the upstream determinants of health are expensive. Lack of finances can be a major challenge in using this approach.
The best methods of improving child health require an approach which conceptualizes healthcare measure evolved from the acknowledged role of early life events in shaping an individual’s health trajectory and the interplay of protective and risk factors in throughout and individual’s lifetime (Halfon, 2009). Looking at child obesity, for instance, there is a need for a meaningful health insurance for all the children. There is also need to look for innovative funding mechanisms to fund obesity-related services and initiatives (Koplan, Liverman, & Kraak, 2005). By adopting these two measures, the U.S healthcare system will witness a shift to a rational health care which provides care early enough.
References
Gillman, M. W. (2002). Epidemiological challenges in studying the foetal origins of adult chronic disease. International Journal of Epidemiology, 31(2), 294-299.
Gluckman, D., Hanson, A., & Mitchell, D. (2010). Developmental origins of health and disease: reducing the burden of chronic diseases in the next generation. Journal of Genome medicine, 2(2), 14.
Halfon, N. (2009).Life Course Health Development: A New Approach in Addressing Upstream Determinants of Health and Spending.” Exit Disclaimer Expert Voices, NIHCM Foundation, Washington, DC.
Koplan, T. Liverman, and Kraak V.(2005). Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Journal of Public Health
Power, C., Graham, H. & Due, P. (2005). The contribution of childhood and adult socio-economic position to adult obesity and smoking behavior: an international comparison. International Journal of epidemiology , 34(2), 335-344.