Women of childbearing age in China, aged 20-35, form a very large population, giving birth to 14 million babies annually. However, their health status is not optimistic, with many nutritional problems. This not only affects their own health, daily life, and work but also directly impacts fetal development and is closely related to the health of the next generation. So, what nutritional problems do they have, and how should they be corrected? Question: What are the main nutritional problems among young women of childbearing age today?
Experts say: According to the China National Nutrition and Health Survey:
1. The incidence of iron-deficiency anemia is high, at about 20%.
2. 7.7% are underweight or malnourished, while approximately 72 million are overweight or obese.
3. Deficiencies in Vitamin A, calcium, and dietary fiber are also common nutritional problems among young women of childbearing age.
Question: Why do these nutritional problems occur? What are the causes? Experts say: The main reasons are as follows:
1. A certain deviation in the perception of one's own body shape.
Most young women believe they are overweight. This perception bias becomes a key factor in their tendency to lose weight and is also a major cause of blind pursuit of slenderness through behaviors like dieting.
2. A significant lack of nutritional knowledge and many misconceptions. For example, 50% of people think that "eating well" means "eating more good things" or "eating more meat or eggs"; only 0.6% can correctly choose foods high in iron; only 1.9% choose foods rich in Vitamin B2; only about 35% know which foods are high in calcium; over 40% of women eat breakfast too infrequently; and only about 32% have heard of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" and the "Chinese Residents' Balanced Dietary Pagoda."
3. A general lack of knowledge on preventing nutritional deficiencies. About 89% of women do not know that being underweight before pregnancy can affect the health of the fetus and newborn; 80% do not know when they should start taking folic acid to effectively prevent neural tube defects in the newborn.
4. Excessive focus on appearance and body shape among young women. This often leads them to neglect the impact on their own and their children's health.
5. Lack of regular exercise. This inevitably leads to more sedentary time and less physical activity, which can easily cause an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, leading to overweight and obesity.
Question: What adverse effects will the nutritional status of young women of childbearing age have on themselves and the next generation? Experts say: It can mostly lead to the following adverse outcomes:
1. If pre-pregnancy weight is too low, the risk of fetal growth restriction or low birth weight increases by 2.5 and 2.3 times, respectively.
2. If iron-deficient before pregnancy, it's easier to develop iron-deficiency anemia during pregnancy, which in turn affects fetal development.
3. If pregnancy weight and weight gain are too low or too high, it can lead to low birth weight and macrosomia (large for gestational age infants).
4. If folic acid is deficient during pregnancy, it can cause fetal growth restriction, premature birth, and low birth weight. A deficiency in the first trimester can also lead to fetal neural tube defects.
Question: How to correct the nutritional problems of young, urban women of childbearing age? Experts say: You can start from the following aspects:
1. Correct the misconceptions of young women of childbearing age. For example, believing that the thinner the better, trying to lose weight even when weight is normal; or overeating for the baby, causing nutritional excess; skipping breakfast or lunch, or only eating certain foods advertised as having special functions; being a picky eater.
2. A balanced diet with reasonable nutrition. Maintain a diversified diet, with grains as the mainstay; eat more vegetables, fruits, and tubers; often eat yogurt, beans, or bean products; regularly eat moderate amounts of fish, poultry, eggs, and lean meat, and eat less red meat and animal fats to ensure adequate and balanced nutrition.
3. Maintain regular exercise. It is best to stick to 60 minutes of walking or 30 minutes of running daily. If busy at work, try changing lifestyle habits, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator; walking instead of driving, or cycling yourself, to maintain a healthy weight.
Fats and oils: 25g (0.5 liang)
Milk and dairy products: 100g (2 liang)
Legumes and their products: 50g (1 liang)
Livestock and poultry meat: 50-100g (1-2 liang)
Fish and shellfish: 50g (1 liang)
Eggs: 25-50g (0.5-1 liang)
Vegetables: 400-500g (8 liang - 1 jin)
Fruits: 100-200g (2-4 liang)
Grains (including sorghum, corn, oats, etc.): 300-500g (6 liang - 1 jin)