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Contribution of animal source foods in improving diet quality and function in children in the developing world [1]

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Date: 2002-01-01  

Malnutrition affects one in three children worldwide. Because the pervasive nature of malnutrition has stirred little public alarm, it has been termed “The Silent Emergency” in the 1998 report on the “State of the World’s Children” from UNICEF [1]. Only a small proportion of the global toll of malnutrition is related to famines, wars, and other catastrophes and these disasters usually result in the most severe forms of malnutrition. However, three-quarters of the children who die worldwide of causes related to poor nutrition are considered to be mildly to moderately malnourished. Over half of South Asia’s children are malnourished. In Africa, one of every three children is underweight [1]. Stunting still remains a formidable problem in up to 40% to 60% of children in some Asian, African, and Latin American countries, or about 226 million children under age five [1], [2]. In general, food insecurity is a widespread and daunting problem, particularly for subsistence farm families or the landless.

Malnutrition usually encompasses a combination of an inadequate intake of total energy and micronutrients and to a lesser extent, protein. Moreover, the high burden of infection and parasites has a negative impact on nutritional status [1]. In children, the most readily measured outcome of malnutrition is poor growth. Growth failure is due not only to low energy or food intake overall, but also to inadequate intake of high-quality protein and vital vitamins and minerals (micronutrients), and sometimes essential fatty acids. Where the quantity of total food intake is inadequate, so is the intake of many micronutrients; single nutrient deficiencies are relatively rare, except perhaps for iodine. The effects of inadequate intake are most pronounced during periods of rapid physiological change and during stages of accelerated growth, e.g. infancy and early childhood, and adolescence. During pregnancy and lactation, nutrients needed for fetal growth and milk production increase a woman’s total nutrient requirements. Therefore, women of reproductive age, the fetus, and young children are groups most vulnerable to malnutrition. Recently, researchers have become increasingly aware that malnutrition not only has deleterious effects on physical growth, resistance to infection, and work capacity but also on cognitive development, school performance, and physical activity in adults and children [3], [4]. Decreased cognitive function and diminished learning ability affect the productivity, not only of individuals, but collectively, of societies and whole nations, particularly in the developing world and among disadvantaged communities in the affluent nations.

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[1] Url: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0271531701003748

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