Features
Under nutrition, growth failure, overweight and micronutrient deficiencies
Ekow Grimmond Thompson, Emotional Surgeon
Under nutrition, growth failure, overweight, micronutrient deficiencies, and osteopenia (a condition that begins as you lose bone mass and your bones get weaker) happen when the inside of your bones become brittle due to loss of calcium. It is very common as you age.
Total bone mass peaks around age 35. Sometimes, osteopenia is a precursor to osteoporosis (nutritional comorbidities that affect the neurologically impaired child). Monitoring neurologically impaired children for nutritional comorbidities is an integral part of their care.
Early involvement by a multidisciplinary team of emotional surgery specialists, physicians, nurses, dieticians, occupational and speech therapists, psychologists, and social workers is essential to prevent the adverse outcomes associated with feeding difficulties and poor nutritional status.
Careful evaluation and monitoring of severely disabled children for nutritional problems are warranted because of the increased risk of nutrition-related morbidity and mortality. Neurological impairment refers to a broad spectrum of neurological disorders that are characterised primarily by gross and fine motor dysfunction and may be associated with cognitive or speech delay.
Under nutrition and overweight lead to increased health care use, hospitalisation, and physician visits, as well as diminished participation in home and school activities. Adequate nutritional support may restore linear growth, normalise weight, improve health and quality of life, reduce the frequency of hospitalisation, decrease irritability and spasticity (muscle and joint deformities/muscle stiffness causing movement to be less precise and making certain tasks difficult to perform/muscle fatigue/abnormal muscle tightness due to prolonged muscle contraction).
It is a symptom associated with damage to the brain or motor nerves, increase alertness, enhance developmental progress, improve wound healing and peripheral circulation, decrease the frequency of aspiration, and ameliorate gastro esophageal reflux (acid reflux occurs when the stomach contents back up into the esophagus and or mouth) in these children.
Children with neurological disabilities usually have progressive weight deficits due to fat loss, although muscle and visceral proteins are maintained. Some children demonstrate a lack of weight gain in the presence of linear growth, leading to a decreased body mass index (BMI). Others have progressive muscle atrophy (decrease in size and wasting of muscle tissues. With muscle atrophy, your muscles look smaller than normal.
Muscle atrophy can occur due to malnutrition, age, genetics, a lack of physical activity or certain medical conditions unresponsive to nutritional intervention because of their underlying disorder. Although neurologically impaired children usually are shorter and weigh less than unaffected children, a small proportion may be overweight based on weight-for-height or triceps skinfold thickness criteria.
The prevalence of overweight may be underestimated because weight-for-height gains are overlooked in the presence of a small body size or an aberrant distribution of body fat that may be present in some neurological disorders. Weight-for-height comparisons may be monitored less frequently than weight alone because of the difficulty obtaining accurate height measurements.
Non-nutritional factors including the type and severity of neurological disability, ambulatory status, and cognitive ability contribute to growth failure in neurologically impaired children. Children with seizures or spastic quadriplegia (a form of cerebral palsy that affects both arms and legs and often the trunk of the human body and face) and those who are non-ambulatory have lower height Z scores than children who lack these disabilities.
Children with spastic hemiplegia (a type of cerebral palsy that occurs when the condition of muscle stiffness impacts one full side of the body) have smaller measures of breadth and length on the affected side, suggesting that the neurological defect influences growth. Inherent genetic factors may be associated with permanent linear stunting. Height-for-age Z-scores may decrease with advancing age independently of weight-for-age Z-scores, suggesting that the effect of scoliosis (abnormal lateral curvature of the spine). It is most often diagnosed in childhood or early adolescence.
The spine’s normal curves which occur at the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions in the sagittal plane contractures worsens over time. Height and weight Z-score deficits generally correlate well in neurologically impaired children, suggesting that nutritional factors contribute to their growth failure.
Nutritional status explains 10 to 15 percent of the variability in linear growth in children with cerebral palsy. Nutritional status has a stronger effect on linear growth in younger than in older children, attesting to the irreversible effects of long-term under nutrition on growth.
Conflict at work is more common than you might think. According to 2022 research by The Myers-Briggs Company, more than a third of the workforce reports dealing with conflict often, very often, or all the time in the workplace. The same report found that managers spend an average of four hours per week dealing with conflict, and nearly 25 per cent of people think their managers handle conflict poorly or very poorly.
Addressing a dispute might feel tense or awkward, but resolving the conflict is typically well worth it in the long run. Whether you’re trying to mediate conflict between colleagues or are directly involved, here are seven steps you can take to manage workplace conflict.
1. Don’t put it off
Facing conflict head-on is hard. However, waiting too long to address it can negatively impact your emotional well-being, focus, and the entire office environment. If you’re feeling angry, letting that emotion fester can also escalate it over time. This can make you less responsive to other points of view and make it harder to resolve the issue.
The sooner you can address the conflict, the better it will be for you, the person you disagree with, and your entire team.
2. Learn all you can about the problem
It’s important to determine the type of conflict you’re dealing with. Begin by considering the cause of the conflict. For example, ask yourself whether someone said something that upset you or if you have emotions of anger and resentment that stemmed from something that happened.
Then try to identify if it’s a task, relationship, value, or team conflict. Once you know what type of conflict it is, you can work to resolve it with specific tactics for that situation.
If you skip this step, you may waste time or escalate the situation further by trying to address issues irrelevant to the real conflict.
3. Actively listen
Listen attentively when people share their side of the story. Active listening is one of the most valuable professional skills you can possess. This type of listening involves not only hearing what the other person is saying but also listening to understand their point of view.
No matter your role in conflict, it’s easy to begin sharing your opinion with little regard for the other people involved. However, it’s important to learn about all sides of a disagreement to make well-informed decisions before drawing conclusions.
To reach a resolution, you must step back and prioritize listening over talking. Ultimately, that will encourage the other person to do the same when it’s your turn to speak. –source: betterup.com
Today, I focus on the Temple Of Praise Ministries International (TOP Church) in Helsinki, as I continue my description of personalities or institutions and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland.
The TOP Church in Finland has seen significant strides and accomplishments that must be made known to the public. 
Some history
The Church was established in Finland in September 2016. Since its inception, it has steadily grown both spiritually and numerically, by the grace of God, as disclosed to me by Mr Matthew Anini Twumasi, the Presiding Elder of TOP’s branch in Finland. The TOP Church has other branches across Africa, Europe, and America.
The Church in Finland was founded with a vision to create a welcoming and dynamic community where people could experience God’s love and grace (see, www.topchurchfinland.org). According to Presiding Elder Matthew, the TOP Church operates within a unique environment where Christianity coexists with what is seen as a largely secular society.
Despite this, he submits, there are significant opportunities for outreach, unity, and demonstrating the love of Christ through service and community engagement.
Activities
Church services at the TOP Church are typically held on Sundays for the main worship. In addition, there are mid-week prayer sessions, Saturday prayer services, and a half-night service held on the last Friday of every month. “We also organise quarterly programs”, Elder Matthew added.
His impression of the Church so far has been positive. “It is a vibrant and welcoming community where members are committed to worship, fellowship, and supporting one another in faith”, he stated.
In sum, Elder Matthew said the Church continues to grow by God’s grace. “We remain hopeful and committed to spreading the Gospel, strengthening the faith of our members, and making a positive impact in society”, he continued.
Achievements
The TOP Church has a number of achievements and achievements. Some of the strengths include strong community bonds, cultural diversity, and deep commitment to spiritual growth.
I also remember that during the COVID-19 period, I heard that the TOP Church was one such bodies that hugely supported its members and others to cope with the situation.
According to Elder Matthew, the challenges facing the church include “adapting to cultural differences, engaging the younger generation, expanding outreach in a secular society, and securing a permanent place of worship”.
Role in the Ghanaian community in Finland
The TOP Church plays a prominent role as a religious group that serves Ghanaian migrants and others in the Finnish society.
Thus, the TOP Church is a religious body for Ghanaian migrants in Finland and other nationalities who want to worship with them for diversity and better intercultural and multicultural understanding.
The Church also has mechanisms in place to support its members who are bereaved as a way to commiserate with them in times of death and funerals.
The Ghanaian community has played a vital role in the growth of the Church. Their strong sense of fellowship, dedication to worship, and active participation have helped build a solid foundation and attract others to the ministry, according to Elder Matthew.
Integration
By its activities, the TOP Church is helping to ensure integration of its members well into the Finish society.
This is important since social interaction and citizens’ well-being are an important part of the integration process.
The role of migrant associations and groups such as TOP Church acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
