Nutrition
Reasons children must eat fruits
• fruit-basket arrangement
Fruit is one of the most important parts of your child’s diet. It’s low in fat and calories and supplies key nutrients that your child needs to grow. Fruit helps protect your child from certain illnesses and diseases as well. Elementary-age children need between 1 and 1 1/2 cups of fruit each day and teens should get between 1 1/2 and 2 cups.
Low in Fat and Calories
One out of three children is overweight or obese, largely due to unhealthy diets high in fat and calories and low in nutrients. Eating plenty of fruit is one way to lower your child’s caloric intake, which can help prevent unhealthy weight gain or shed excess pounds. Replacing high-calorie and high-fat snacks with fresh fruit can significantly cut the number of calories in your child’s diet. Fresh fruit also contains nutrients that give your child energy so he can be active, which is another way to help him manage his weight.
Rich in fibre
Fresh fruit is a nutritious source of fibre, which many children don’t get enough of in their daily diets. Fibre helps keep your child’s digestive system working normally, which reduces his risk of constipation. When your child gets plenty of fibre in his diet, he’s also at a decreased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Enriched with vitamins and minerals
Fruit contains a wealth of key vitamins and minerals that support your child’s development and help keep him healthy. Plenty of fruit helps your child get adequate amounts of potassium, which helps keep his blood pressure normal. Fruit supplies vitamin C, a nutrient that boosts your child’s immune system and helps prevent infection. It also provides vitamin A for healthy eyes and folate for normal DNA production.
Has many health benefits
The vitamins and minerals in fruit keep your child’s kidneys working normally, which decreases his risk of kidney stones, and helps your child build bone mass, according to the ChooseMyPlate.gov website. A diet rich in fruit can reduce your child’s lifetime risk of certain types of cancer such as throat, oesophageal and stomach. Fruit might also reduce the risk of lung cancer, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.
Improves academic performance
A healthy and well-balanced diet supports brain development, and eating plenty of fresh fruit might boost your child’s performance in school. A 2008 study published in the “Journal of School Health” notes that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables results in higher test scores. A healthy diet that includes fruit can also increase your child’s focus in the classroom so he is able to learn new information, as well as retain what he’s learned.
Source: healthyeating.sfgate.com
Cabbage may not be the most attractive vegetable, but it is full of nutritional benefits that can keep the body strong and healthy-from boosting your immune system to improving digestion.
This common leafy green vegetable comes in a range of colours, shapes and sizes that you can use for soup, salad, sandwiches and more. It can be eaten raw or stir-fried.
-Fights inflammation
Cabbages contains anthocyanins, which are naturally occurring antioxidants. Anthocyanins does not only add colour to fruits but rather reduce inflammation. A research showed that people who eat cabbages has lower inflammation levels than those who do not eat.
– Keeps one strong
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, does a lot of work in the body. It helps make collagen and boosts the immune system. It also helps your body absorb iron from plant-based foods.
– Improves digestion
Cabbages contains phytosterols (plant sterols) and insoluble fibre. These help keeps the digestive system healthy and bowel movements regular. It fuels the good bacteria in your gut that protects your immune system.
– Protects your heart
The anthocyanins found in cabbage help with more than inflammation. Research suggests they reduce your risk of heart disease.
Scientists have found 36 different kinds of anthocyanins in cabbage, which could make it an excellent option for cardiovascular health.
– Lowers blood pressure
Potassium is a mineral and electrolyte that helps your body control blood pressure. One cup of red cabbage can produce a healthy amount of potassium — as much as 6 per cent of your recommended daily value. This could help lower your blood pressure, reducing your risk for heart disease.
-Lowers cholesterol
Cabbage contains two substances — fibre and phytosterols (plant sterols) — that compete with cholesterol to be absorbed by your digestive system. They wind up reducing your bad cholesterol levels and improving your health.
– Maintains bone health and healthy blood clotting
Vitamin K is essential to our well-being. Without it, you’d be at risk of developing bone conditions like osteoporosis, and your blood wouldn’t be able to clot properly. According to research, eating cabbage everyday keep our bones strong and blood cells clotting well.- clevelandclinic.org
Malnutrition persists in Ghana not because solutions are unknown, but because leadership has not consistently elevated nutrition as a national priority. Despite the availability of evidence-based interventions, malnutrition remains under-addressed in policy implementation and financing decisions. This gap reflects a broader leadership challenge that must be urgently addressed.
Nutrition outcomes are shaped by decisions across multiple sectors: health, agriculture, education, sanitation, and social protection. Without strong political leadership to coordinate these sectors, efforts remain fragmented and impact is limited. Policies exist, but implementation is often weak due to competing priorities and insufficient accountability.
High-level leadership is essential to place nutrition at the centre of development planning. This includes ensuring adequate budget allocations, setting measurable targets, and monitoring progress at the highest levels of government. Parliament has a critical role to play in holding institutions accountable for nutrition outcomes, just as it does for economic performance.
International experience is instructive. Countries that have significantly reduced malnutrition have done so through sustained political commitment, often led by heads of government or senior ministers. Nutrition was treated as a development accelerator rather than a welfare issue.
In Ghana, leadership for nutrition must be strengthened at both national and sub-national levels. District assemblies, in particular, are pivotal in translating policy into action, yet they often lack the authority or resources to prioritize nutrition effectively.
Malnutrition undermines human capital development and constrains economic growth. Leaders must recognise that failing to address it carries long-term costs for the nation. Political leadership that champions nutrition will not only save lives but also strengthen Ghana’s development trajectory.
Ending malnutrition is achievable, but only if leaders take ownership of the challenge. Nutrition must be seen not as a sectoral concern but as a national development priority that demands decisive and sustained leadership.
Key Policy Recommendations: The Office of the President should establish a High-Level Nutrition Coordination Council, chaired by the Vice President, bringing together Ministers from Health, Agriculture, Education, Gender, and Local Government to meet quarterly and drive cross-sectoral action. The Ministry of Finance must mandate that at least 5 per cent of each sector ministry’s budget includes nutrition-sensitive interventions with measurable targets. Parliament should create a bi-partisan Nutrition Caucus to champion nutrition legislation and hold the Executive accountable through annual review sessions. District Chief Executives (DCEs) should be given performance contracts that include nutrition outcome indicators, with nutrition coordinators appointed at all 261 district assemblies. The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) must integrate nutrition targets into the next Medium-Term Development Plan with clear accountability frameworks linking national commitments to district-level delivery.
Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition project
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