Consequences of Forced feedings: Kids to Elderly-Comparing with inflammation and other inflammatory like immune responses of the body

Feeding is the necessity to be healthy and happy (1). Proper feeding is the key steps along with health and caring facilities (2). Improper feeding may be unhealthy (3). We often intentionally or unintentionally try to feed our near and dear ones as per our thought or norms or cultural practices or sometimes based on recommendations of others (may be professionals and non-professionals). In some cases, we overlooked the necessity or importance of need or demand assessment based on individual age, sex, physiological and other conditions. Sometimes we also forced ourselves to eat when we are not intended to have that to satisfy others, due to not having no other options, economic hardships, less or no accessibility and availability, natural and manmade emergencies, etc.

Let’s brainstorms and try to connect existing evidence-based findings for improving the situation of food and nutrition related behaviors. These may help in different steps or stages of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) transitions (4). As we know participation (individual and community) is key to ensure success, efficiently and effectiveness of any intervention. Similarly, individual participation and enjoying food, nutrients or meal are also important. Heare menu, flavor, color, taste, serving, caring environment, etc. also the key regulators those promote food acceptability, consumption, nutrition, health, etc.

Let’s ask few questions and think differently-

• Is it good or bad to force one to get a food or nutrient or meal beyond his or her body needs which may be expressed by individual’s appetite. hugger, satiety and satiation, etc.?
• Is forced feeding is harmful for kids only -particularly for neonate, infants, toddlers, kids? (5)
• Is it harmful irrespective of age and gender? (6)
• Does it have similar effects of immune responses of our body as foreign particles?
• Are there any major hormonal or enzymatic shifts due to force or over feeding that may be harmful? (7,8,9,10,11,12)
• Any psychological trauma or fear for future food and nutrient related choices and practices? (13)

Let’s discuss in detail about common aspects of food or nutrient intake related to health and nutritional status of indivdual or groups. In general, long-term intake of excess food or nutrients may be unhealthy (14).

…….

Let’s avoid forced feedings and ensure or choose the best and alternative options of feedings (15,16,17,18). At the same time, try to promote on demand feedings irrespective of age, sex, etc. These would be helpful to archive optimum nutrition and health status of individual, groups.

*(Continuing…)

*Featured image credit goes to https://www.pexels.com

If you are more interested, please visit the following links:

ARFID: Symptoms, Health Risks & Treatment | NEDA

Food Aversion Meaning & Causes

What does it mean when your body starts rejecting food?

References:

1. Nutrition by Life Stage | Nutrition.gov
2. Nutrition as We Age: Healthy Eating with the Dietary Guidelines – News & Events | odphp.health.gov
3. Fact sheets – Malnutrition
4. Guidelines for assessing nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes and practices
5. Feeding Guide for the First Year – Stanford Medicine Children’s Health
6. Healthy diet
7. Too much of a good thing: the curse of overfeeding – PMC
8. The Effects of Overfeeding on Body Composition: The Role of Macronutrient Composition – A Narrative Review – PMC
9. Metabolic consequences of overfeeding in humans – PubMed
10. What have human experimental overfeeding studies taught us about adipose tissue expansion and susceptibility to obesity and metabolic complications? | International Journal of Obesity
11. The biology of human overfeeding: A systematic review – PubMed
12. Physiological responses to carbohydrate overfeeding – PubMed
13. Taste the texture. The relation between subjective tactile sensitivity, mouthfeel and picky eating in young adults – PubMed
14. Adverse Effects Associated with Protein Intake above the Recommended Dietary Allowance for Adults – PMC
15. The Dangers of Force-feeding African Babies and Why You Shouldn’t Do It
16. 9789240070301-eng.pdf
17. Introduction – Complementary Feeding Interventions for Infants and Young Children Under Age 2 – NCBI Bookshelf
18. Why Do We Dislike So Many Foods? Understanding Food Aversions | SpringerLink