PEDIATRIC AND ADULT
NUTRITION IN CHRONIC
DISEASES, DEVELOPMENTAL
DISABILITIES, AND
HEREDITARY METABOLIC
DISORDERS

Nutrition is a focus of government action. The Healthy People 2020 National Health Promotion and
Disease Prevention Objectives provided 10 new topics and policy and action strategies to improve nutrition for the nation. The Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health and the Surgeon General’s
Report: Children with Special Health Care Needs Campaign both verified the need for better nutrition
through early intervention, particularly for children with special health care needs. They are based on
Public Law 99-457, which underscores the importance of early intervention and identifies the need for
family-centered care and community-based care to reduce nutrition problems and their related costs in
our society. Several interdisciplinary national workshops and short courses have been convened to make
other disciplines aware of the impact of nutrition on chronic diseases and developmental disorders. The
growing recognition of the importance of nutrition has been enhanced by the development of growth charts
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on data from the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Surveys (NHANES)