Women Health & Nutrition

There are numerous ways in which women's health differs from men's. Population health, as defined by the World Health Organization, is "not just the absence of disease or infirmity, but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being”. Although women's reproductive health is often referred to as "reproductive health," many groups argue that the term should be broader, encompassing the overall health of women. The disparities between men and women become even more pronounced in developing nations where women's health, which includes both their risks and experiences, is further compromised.

Despite women in industrialized countries living longer than men due to narrowed gender gaps in life expectancy, they still suffer from diseases earlier and with worse outcomes than men. There are numerous variables that influence women's health, including their biology, poverty, employment as well as family responsibilities. In many respects, women have long been disadvantaged, including in social and economic terms, which place restrictions on their access to the necessities of life, such as health care, and the more disadvantage there is, like in developing countries, the more adverse the health outcome.

There are marked differences between the sexual and reproductive health of men and women. A quarter-million women die every year from maternal complications as a result of pregnancy and childbirth in developed countries, with a large gap between these figures and the number of deaths in developing countries. In addition to preeclampsia, other non-reproductive diseases such as cardiovascular disease play a role in both the mortality and morbidity associated with pregnancy. Women and infants can suffer serious adverse outcomes from sexually transmitted infections, including stillbirths and neonatal deaths, and infertility due to pelvic inflammatory disease. Along with infertility, birth control, unplanned pregnancies, nonconsensual sexual activity, and the struggle for abortion access, women are faced with many other challenges.

Multiple factors influence the health of women in India, which differ by geography, socio-economic status, and culture. It is necessary to analyze India's health from multiple dimensions in comparison with global health averages and with the health of men in the country in order to effectively improve women's health. "Health contributes to the well-being of people and the growth of the economy."

The health of women in India is a significant problem, which ultimately affects the economy's overall performance. The creation of quality human capital and increased levels of savings and investment can be achieved through improving gender, class, and ethnic disparities in healthcare and improving health outcomes.

Women’s health & need for gender justice- A social revolution is needed to provide equal opportunities for girls and women as well as to focus on achieving equal outcomes.

• In India, women's health, education, and employment status have significantly improved over the years. But women and girls fare much less well in terms of health indices than boys and men. 
• A number of schemes have been implemented to improve women's health by successive governments, which have recognized the inequalities in health indices. Women are provided with care through many programs, including the National Rural Health Mission. Women's health is improved through family planning programs, which provide contraception. Women's health is also improved by many programs aimed at the general population.
• Despite this, community programs have argued and demonstrated that economic development leads to greater improvements in women's health than direct medical interventions alone. As a result, education and employment for women have become essential components of such programs. Education (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) and employment (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) are national campaigns that are geared toward empowering women. Women can also develop skills, find alternative livelihoods, and generate income and assets through self-help groups and microcredit initiatives.

Health Rationale for Gender Justice- It is common to see gender injustice in a socio-cultural context and in terms of social outcomes. Health data analysis, however, clearly demonstrates the impact of gender on women's health. The majority of Indian women are discriminated against. Social and health outcomes are adversely affected as a result.

• Girls’ and women's health is influenced by social determinants. Viewing women's health as a medical issue and suggesting individual medical interventions demonstrates a lack of understanding of issues. The public health movement has made a major error by reducing women's health from a biomedical perspective. Individual medical interventions have little impact on population indices, which require population interventions, so social interventions should be at the core of all health and prevention programs.

Nutrition

Healthy living is dependent on nutrition, which is a basic human need.  From a very young age, a proper diet is essential to growth, development, and a healthy lifestyle. The science of nutrition is concerned with all the different components of food and the way in which proper nutrition can be achieved. Groups of people have fixed nutritional requirements based on measurable characteristics such as age, sex, height, weight, degree of activity, and rate of growth.

Antioxidants- A substance called an antioxidant protects our cells from the effects of free radicals. We are exposed to free radicals when we eat or when we are exposed to tobacco smoke or radiation. The production and scavenging of free radicals occur as part of the normal cellular process.

Our bodies produce free radicals on purpose

• Physiological functions
• Some bacteria and fungi that invade the body will be killed by the antifungal
• Cellular signaling and growth regulation

Free radicals are stabilized and controlled by antioxidants, preventing some of the damage that they would otherwise cause.

Global Nutrition Report- Report cards on nutrition and efforts to improve it are included in the Global Nutrition Report—globally, regionally, and by country. It is an independent report on the state of nutrition around the world every year.  It outlines global nutrition targets on maternal, infant, and young child nutrition as well as non-communicable diseases related to the diet adopted by member states of the WHO and how they are being met by governments. Taking action to end malnutrition in all its forms will be made easier with this tool. It will help governments and other stakeholders make and deliver high-impact commitments.

Malnutrition- Foods that are cheap and filling but deficient in essential vitamins and micronutrients cause hidden hunger because they are cheap filling, but deficient in essential vitamins. It is often unnoticed when micronutrient deficiency occurs in the community, despite it being more widely understood and monitored. The reason for calling micronutrient deficiencies "hidden hunger" is because of this reason.

• Despite having adequate food resources, communities can suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. A lack of fruits, vegetables, or foods derived from animals containing micronutrients in the diet is inevitable when people cannot afford to diversify their diet.