Nutrition supervision in children and young population

Abstract Infant and children´s nutrition supervision is one of the responsibilities of the paediatrician. It usually takes place during the follow up health visits and in opportunity visits.

There is more and more evidence supporting the influence of nutrition on the starting of a wide group of chronic conditions: obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis and some malignancies. The change on nutritional habits in the last decades is modifying their prevalence in childhood and in adult life.

There isn´t a "unique" way of correct nutrition, neither there is dangerous food, but the excess or deficiency of some specific nutrients in the diet may be risky for health.

Nutritional advice is an interesting tool, still under development and with many limitations, like the difficulty of assuring that the scientific recommendations reach the general population. Promoting breastfeeding and a correct education in feeding habits (a varied diet with all essential nutrients) are fundamental tasks.

Keywords: Nutrition. Health promotion. Nutritional counselling. Nutrition habits. Cardiovascular risk.