The Foundations of Lifelong Health Are Built in Early Childhood
Date
2012
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Harvard University
Abstract
Description
A vital and productive society with a prosperous and sustainable future is built on a foundation of healthy child development. Health in the earliest years beginning with the future mother s well-being before she becomes pregnant lays the groundwork for a lifetime of vitality. When developing biological systems occur in an environment of positive early experiences, children have a greater chance to thrive and to grow up to be healthy adults. Sound health also provides a foundation for the construction of sturdy brain architecture and the achievement of a broad range of skills and learning capacities. There is an extensive, and rapidly expanding, amount of scientific evidence illustrating the extent to which early experiences affect the biology of the body, becoming embedded in the development of multiple organ systems. As a result, the consequences of adversity early in life can be serious and long-lasting, affecting the body s ability to, for example, regulate metabolism, fight disease, and maintain a healthy heart as well as a healthy brain. Reducing toxic stress in early childhood is therefore an important strategy for lifelong health promotion and disease prevention.
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Keywords
Child development, Child development -- physical, medical