RT Book, Section A1 Baker, Robert D. A1 Baker, Susan S. A2 Bishop, Warren P. SR Print(0) ID 55945000 T1 Chapter 8. Nutrition T2 Pediatric Practice: Gastroenterology YR 2010 FD 2010 PB The McGraw-Hill Companies PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-163379-6 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=55945000 RD 2024/03/29 AB According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the goal of pediatrics is “to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.” It is self-evident that maintaining good nutrition is a prerequisite to attaining this goal. Appropriate nutrition supplies the “building blocks” for healthy physical growth. Optimal mental health and mental capacity rely on adequate nutrition, from conception to old age. D.J.P. Barker theorized that fetal nutrition is associated with a number of chronic conditions of later life. The Barker hypothesis, in its expanded form, proposes that infant nutrition, as well as fetal nutrition, has long-term health effects reaching into adulthood and old age. Some of the parameters that may be affected by nutrition in infancy include cardiovascular health, blood pressure, bone mineralization, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, split proinsulin, and cognitive development. While these observations are tantalizing, they are observational. A causal relationship has not been established. The Barker hypothesis continues to be debated, but to the extent that it proves true, early nutrition gains tremendous importance.