Introduction

Ethics deals with the principles of morality and the defined standards of right and wrong. Early philosophers divided ethical theories into four categories. These are deontology, consequentialism, utilitarianism and virtue ethics. They try to explain something that is not self –evident. Consequentialism which will be discussed in this paper holds that the consequences of one’s conduct make the basis for judgment about the wrongness or rightness of that act. For instance, most people agree that lying is wrong, but in cases where the lie might save someone’s life, consequentialism judges it by saying it is the right thing to do. However, this theory can sometimes lead to judgments that are objectionable, even though the consequences are good. For example, selling unhealthy diets in a school cafeteria would increase the sales and therefore profit. Although most people will benefit from them, most people might never agree with this. However, if one decides to judge the idea solely on its results, then it is entirely right to say that the end justifies the means (Roy & Stretch, 2018).

The Truman administration since the 1940s has ensured that school lunch is a federal program with national nutritional standards. Before that the foods that were sold in the schools’ cafeterias were the most significant contributors to the poor diet and weight of the children. These updates in the nutrition standards made improvements to the schools’ breakfast programs but did not increase reimbursement. According to the USDA estimates, an additional 25 cents is needed to meet the updated school breakfast patterns (National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, 205). Consequentialism comes in by saying in as much as more money will be needed to meet the updated school breakfast patterns, the greater good has healthy kids. Therefore updating the breakfast patterns in schools is the right thing to do even though the process will require more money (Singh et al., 2018).

Health disparities and their relationship to vulnerable persons in the case study

Health –disparity refers to a higher burden of injury, illness, disability or mortality experienced by one population group relative to another. They can be related to income, race, sex, education, geography, sexual orientation, disability only to mention a few.

Race

Being identified by a particular race influences the health of an individual. The disparities in the access of good healthcare include differences in the quality of care based on track and the overall insurance cover based on race. According to a study conducted in 2002, competition is identified as a determinant in the level of health quality. The blacks receive lower quality care compared to the whites. The minority populations such as the blacks are more likely to die of chronic diseases compared to the whites (Roy &Stretch, 2018).

Disability

About 15 % of the world population comprise of disabled. The increasing rate is due to population aging and chronic growing conditions. Disabled people should be provided with healthcare that meets their needs. People are vulnerable to deficiencies in healthcare services. However, their access to healthcare can be improved by making the services affordable and improving the quality of care (Roy &Stretch, 2018).

Sex

Some diseases are more common among female sex more than male sex. Illnesses such as breast cancers are known to be more prevalent among females compared to males.

Interests of state and the person and their conflict

With the growing rates in child obesity, the state has dedicated itself towards improving the health status of the children. The country has come up with policies that are related to physical activities and the nutrition of the children. To manage the youth obesity problem, the state is offering nutrition educating and food literacy sessions that are the most critical components to the development of lifelong healthy behaviors. A program such as Summer food service program and school lunch and breakfast together with the effective health education will help to ensure that the participants have the knowledge, skills and the desire to make healthy choices. Ensuring young kids develop proper eating habits is crucial since it provides the proper physical and mental development of the child (National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, 2015). Other than the United States other countries have also committed themselves towards the proper nutritional development of its children. However, there are still children who experience malnutrition that leads to low birth weight, overweight, stunting and wasting (Nguyen, et .all, 2018).

Parents have a responsibility of ensuring that their children are practicing healthy lifestyles without the aim of preventing health-related diseases such as obesity. They can do this by encouraging their children to take part in physical activities and also ensure that the food and beverages they consume are healthy.

The state and the person may conflict in cases where the country comes up with policies that are against the beliefs and values of individuals’.For example, the Truman Administration in the 1940s saw that there were improvements in the breakfast system of the school but did not increase the reimbursement. This brought conflicts between the state and the administration of the public schools (Nationals Alliance for Nutrition and activity, 2015).

Recommendations

Ethics related to proper nutrition among children and the public at large is the most frequently discussed subject. Foods marketed to children for instance in the school cafeteria should be ethically acceptable to promote responsibility of the individuals. Most children spend half of their waking hours in school. Therefore the school has to play a significant role in influencing the health of the children (Singh et al., 2018).

For this reason, most public schools must refute and question any policies that, do not benefit the students. The implementation of changes and systems that are brought up by the state and the stakeholders present several challenges that require ethical justification. Besides teaching academicskills, the school has a responsibility of supporting the health of their children.

Ethnically sound recommendations should have a focus on improving the overall health of the children. Some of these recommendations are;

Building and maintaining trust –By keeping the confidence, the parents, as well as individual students, will have faith in the food provided by the school.

Protecting the vulnerable –Protecting the weak, i.e., Children will ensure that the food children are not mishandled.

Respecting an individual’s liberty of action –The state should respect the decisions made by the public schools rewarding the policies presented to them.

Fulfilling universal human rights – The policies should be following human rights.

Preventing harm –The policies should ensure that the students are not in danger of injury brought to the children.

Conclusions

To sum up, we can say child nutrition is global health that needs to be looked in. Both the state and the individuals have interests regarding the diet of children. Public Institutions should ensure that the foods and beverages they offer are nutritious.

References

National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity .(2015) .2015  child nutrition reauthorization recommendations .American Public Health Association.Retrieved from http://www.apha.org/-/media /files/pdf/advocacy/phact/150721  nana cnr recs.ashx

Singh, A., Klemm, R. D., Mundy, G., Rana, P. P., Pun, B., & Cunningham, K. (2018). Improving maternal, infant and young child nutrition in Nepal via peer mobilization. Public health nutrition, 21(4), 796-806.

Roy, P. G., & Stretch, T. (2018). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Child and adolescent federally funded nutrition assistance programs. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 118(8), 1490-1497.

Nguyen, P. H., DiGirolamo, A. M., Gonzalez‐Casanova, I., Young, M., Kim, N., Nguyen, S., …&Ramakrishnan, U. (2018). Influences of early child nutritional status and home learning environment on child development in Vietnam. Maternal & child nutrition, 14(1), e12468.

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