Feb
2008
Maternal and child under-nutrition has grave consequences rather than been confined to infant health and the mortality rate. Occurrence of Maternal and child under nutrition is highly prevalent in countries with abundant low and middle-income populations. Such a situation in these countries results in to the substantial increase in mortality and overall burden.
Scientists in an international collaboration project performed specific analysis of the five different studies that were conducted on considerably large populations in these countries. This study results analysis included various parameters including the nutrition, health and human capital in developing and middle-income countries.
Scientists could observe that the overall impact of malnourishment in young mothers and their babies has extensive and far-reaching consequences going even beyond the common parameters of infant health and mortality.
Scientists also conducted a thorough review of the previous studies made in this regard and the new data analysis related to the communities in countries including Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines and South Africa. The researchers were able to demonstrate the documentary evidences supporting their new finding that under nutrition was strongly associated with indicator parameters like shorter adult height, less schooling, and reduced economic productivity. It was also observed that the poorer life outcomes had more tendency of getting passed on generally from one generation to the next. This was significantly reflected with the offspring of undernourished mothers who also displayed low birth weight.
Researchers analyzed the adult ‘Body Mass Index (BMI)’ and height data and found that the lower birth weight and under-nutrition in early childhood were increasingly becoming the great risk factors for high glucose concentrations, blood pressure and coronary heart disease during the later years of life. Scientists also suggested that the “malnutrition suffered in the womb and as an infant could not be reversed simply by access to more food at a later stage in life”. Taking a conclusive view on the vulnerable situation of under nutrition and the importance of healthy, well nourished dietary patterns in the early childhood, Professor Caroline Fall, at the “MRC Epidemiology Resource Center” in Southampton remarked that particularly the children who remain malnourished in the first two years of their life and gain weight with faster rate in their subsequent years during the adolescent age are actually at the greatest risk of chronic diseases related to nutrition. This is mainly because of the rate of metabolism of their bodies. The metabolic rate gets largely adjusted during the early development stage. Under nourished children were found to be ill-equipped for coping up with many such health problems in the later years of life. However, the “rapid height gain in the first 2 years of life is not associated with adverse health consequences in later life”, says Caroline Fall.
An interesting large-scale trial is also being carried out among the young women in Mumbai. This trial has engaged the young women at an early stage, before they become pregnant, and providing them with a daily dietary supplement in the form of a “samosa” with high micro-nutrition contents.
Study results also revealed that mother and child under-nutrition leads to permanent physical and mental impairment with harmful future generations’ impacts. Populations adversely affected by stunting and the negative health and life impacts of under-nutrition in early life will not be capable of grasping opportunities to get rid of poverty.
