Category: Nutrition

Impaired IQ and academic skills in adults who experienced moderate to severe infantile malnutrition: a forty-year study

Published: Nov. 26, 2013

Publication: National Library of Medicine

Authors: Deborah P. Waber, Ph.D., Cyralene P. Bryce, M.D., Jonathan M. Girard, B.A., Miriam Zichlin, B.S., Garrett M. Fitzmaurice, Sc.D., and Janina R. Galler, M.D.

Background

  • Previous studies have indicated that pre- and post-natal malnutrition can result in long term changes to the structure and functionality of the brain, impairing memory and learning in childhood and adolescence
  • There has been less emphasis on researching how malnutrition in the first year of life affects intellectual capacity across the lifespan
  • The “Barbados Nutrition Study” assessed IQ and academic skills in adults in Barbados who were born with a moderate birth rate, but experienced moderate to severe malnutrition in their first year of life
  • Individuals were enrolled in a nutritional health intervention program and monitored until they were at least 12 years of age to ensure they were in good health
  • The control group consisted of healthy individuals from the same neighborhoods and classrooms who did not experience malnourishment in their first year of life

Summary

  • While previously malnourished individuals were able to catch up physically to their healthy peers, their cognitive and behavioral development lagged behind 
  • IQ scores in the intellectual disability range were 9 times more prevalent in the previously malnourished group 
  • Previously malnourished individuals had lower IQs, lower grades in school, and higher rates of attention problems. They also suffered from intellectual disabilities at a higher rate than their healthy peers. 
  • Malnutrition during the first year of life carries risk for significant lifelong functional morbidity.  

Key Facts: 

  • The estimated difference in IQ between the two groups was 15 points when tested as adolescents and 18 points when tested as adults 
  • 26.3 percent of individuals in the previously malnourished group had IQs indicating intellectual disabilities compared to only 3 percent in the control group 

Read the original article here

Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition

Published: December 2003 

Publication: International Food Policy Research Institution 

Authors: Harold Alderman, John Hoddinott, Bill Kinsey 

Background

  • Researchers studied the preschool nutritional status (measured by height, given age) of children in Zimbabwe who experienced civil unrest and/or a drought before the age of three
  • Civil war and droughts were used as an indicator of malnourishment
  • Nutritional status was then compared to subsequent health and education achievements of these children to show the effects of early-childhood malnutrition on adult outcomes

Summary

  • The study indicates that early childhood malnutrition can lead to continued stunting and lower school achievement in adolescence as compared to peers who experienced no malnutrition or a lesser degree of malnutrition in childhood
  • Children who measured at median height in preschool were more likely to measure at median height by adolescence and have completed an additional 0.7 grades of schooling than students who measured below median height in preschool
  • This study also indicates that improving preschool nutrition can facilitate growth and higher educational achievement in adolescence
  • Because of the negative impact of “shocks” (i.e. war and drought), interventions should focus on mitigating the impact of these shocks.

Read the original article here

A Conversation with Action Against Hunger

Blythe Thomas, Initiative Director at 1,000 Days, an initiative of FHI Solutions, recently spoke with Dr. Charles Owubah, CEO of Action Against Hunger, to discuss the vital work of his organization to detect, treat and prevent malnutrition. The two discussed the effects of COVID and climate change on food and nutrition, the role of women farmers in ending malnutrition, and LifePack, an innovative tool to raise money for malnutrition treatment.

Watch the video to learn more. 

Keeping Healthy During Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

During pregnancy and when you’re breastfeeding, nutritious food choices will help fuel your
baby’s growth and keep you healthy.

Watch and learn 6 steps you can take during your 1,000-day window to nourish you and your little
one.


Taking a Prenatal Vitamin

Eating the Rainbow

Limiting Certain Foods

Managing your Weight

Focusing on Good Nutrition

Breastfeeding for the Benefits to You and Baby

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What We’re Watching – July 2022

July is bringing hot temperatures to the Nation’s Capital and work is also heating up on Child Nutrition Reauthorization and the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. To the delight of child nutrition advocates, House Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and House Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee Chair Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) released the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act, the Committee’s much-anticipated Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill. The legislation addresses critical needs and recommended improvements in the programs that serve children including the National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program, Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Proposals in the bill are designed to increase access to these programs and strengthen the nutritional resources provided to participants. Many of the recommendations are based on learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic about strategies to reach more children and meet the critical needs of program providers to ensure program sustainability.

1,000 Days is particularly excited to see provisions that

  • modernize WIC by improving access to telehealth so that receiving program benefits is not limited due to physical burdens;
  • expand the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program to ensure more families have access to breastfeeding support;
  • strengthen CACFP by providing reimbursement for an additional meal or snack per child, allowing young children in care for longer hours to receive the nutrition they need; and
  • permit children in households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to be automatically eligible for CACFP, ensuring more young children will receive nutritious meals and snacks.

The team at 1,000 Days will monitor the Committee markup on Wednesday, July 27 and work closely with partners and lawmakers to advance this bill and its critical components that improve nutrition security for birthing people, young children, and their families.

1,000 Days also worked across the public health community and in specific coalitions to inform the Administration about our priorities for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health by the July 15 deadline. Examples include working with Council for a Strong America’s CEO Barry Ford to submit this letter to reinforce the need for policies to support maternal and child health, equitable policy implementation and more. Paid Leave for All, where Blythe Thomas, 1,000 Days’ Initiative Director, serves on the steering committee, submitted a letter leveraging 1,000 Day’s report that demonstrates paid leave is a public health imperative and must be considered as an intersectional policy that supports and builds stability for low-income and other marginalized communities. Finally, although it’s not an official part of White House property, the Task Force on Hunger, Nutrition and Health collected policy reports and white papers to help inform their recommendations. That portal includes four papers authored by 1,000 Days and four papers from other organizations with a focus on the 1,000-day window in the title. We’re working hard to ensure the White House hears us!

Historic Commitment from US Government to Fight Severe Malnutrition

“There are many problems in this world that will take decades to solve sustainably. Ending child deaths from wasting is not one of them. This is something we can do now.” – Will Moore, CEO, Eleanor Crook Foundation at the State of Global Food Security and Nutrition event on July 18.

At the State of Global Food Security and Nutrition event hosted July 18, 2022, by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF), USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced that the United States will provide UNICEF with an additional $200 million to procure and distribute ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF). The announcement is the most significant commitment that has ever been made to treat wasted children and the largest leap in coverage on record. 

In addition to the $200 million commitment, the Eleanor Crook Foundation, the CRI Foundation and The ELMA Relief Foundation also pledged $50 million to support the effort. Administrator Power announced a goal to match another $250 million from the private sector, high net worth individuals, corporations and other philanthropies with hopes to announce additional funds raised at the U.N. General Assembly in September 2022. 

“Perhaps the most immediate, life saving, humanitarian aid we can provide is assistance to revive severely malnourished children,” said Administrator Power. “Despite the power of (RUTF) in the fight against child wasting, it is drastically underutilized.”

Malnutrition is the greatest threat to child survival worldwide, contributing to more child deaths than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Those who do survive severe malnutrition in early childhood are much more likely than their well nourished peers to suffer from physical and mental stunting that affect future educational attainment, health and earning potential. 

RUTF treatment for six weeks can help nearly 90 percent of children suffering from wasting recover.  According to UNICEF, “Reaching virtually every child in need can be achieved with just US$300 million in additional funding.” The $200 million pledge, coupled with the $50 million pledged today by private philanthropies, could equate to 80% of the way toward the UNICEF goal.

However, RUTF is not the only high-impact nutrition intervention ready to be scaled today. Using a modeling tool developed by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, researchers identified four of the most life-saving and cost-effective actions we can take. Known as the Power 4, they include the following: 

  1. Supply all pregnant women with prenatal vitamins;
  2. Support breastfeeding mothers;  
  3. Continue large-scale vitamin A supplementation; and 
  4. Expand coverage of specialized foods (RUTF) for treatment. 

Along with RUTF, the Power 4 have significant potential to reduce child deaths from malnutrition and make up some of the “best buys” in global development. In the United States, just over 1 percent of US global health funding in FY2022 goes to nutrition programming, while AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis collectively net about 76 percent. It is time to increase global nutrition investments and end the preventable child and maternal deaths malnutrition causes. 

As Administrator Power said today, “No child should die from malnutrition when we have the tools to stop it, it’s that simple.” At 1,000 Days, we agree.

1,000 Days Submits Comments to USDA and HHS for Next Edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) are preparing for the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They recently proposed a list of scientific questions to inform the next version, with a focus on diet and health outcomes across the lifespan. In response, 1,000 Days submitted comments emphasizing the critical importance of nutrition in shaping future health and outcomes. Our comments specifically recommend adding developmental milestones as outcomes of study for infant and toddlers, including key questions on maternal and child nutrition and health outcomes from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report, and updating research on breastmilk composition and consumption.

See the comments here.

Focus on Nutrition During National Women’s Health Week

By:  Blythe Thomas, Initiative Director, 1,000 Days of FHI Solutions

Minerva Delgado, Director of Coalitions & Advocacy, Alliance to End Hunger

Not nearly enough time or attention is spent discussing and acting upon when “good nutrition” for an individual should start. The answer? Before the individual is even born. This week is National Women’s Health Week and marks an important time for the nutrition and anti-hunger community, individuals, and policymakers, to reflect on what we can do to promote and improve the health of women, children and families. We must focus on supporting policies that build a healthier and more equitable future for all pregnant, birthing, postpartum, and parenting people and their children.  

The 1,000-day window, which spans from pregnancy to age 2, marks one of the most crucial times to provide vital maternal and infant nutrition interventions. The nutrition community has coalesced around this critical window working to ensure mothers, children and families have access to the nutrition they need for vibrant futures. This goal is unfortunately – but unsurprisingly – difficult to achieve across the board. Factors such as race or where a child is born should not affect health and well-being; however, this is a reality in many communities. In particular, families of color and low-income families are more often overburdened with barriers to accessing nutrition and are under-resourced. As a result, there are glaring disparities in the health and well-being of women and children from these households. 

Adequate nutrition is fundamental to the overall well-being of a community because good nutrition impacts more than just physical health. Good maternal nutrition during pregnancy fuels the development of a baby’s rapidly growing brain so by the time that a baby is born, their brain will contain 100 billion neurons. We also know, for example, that children with access to healthier, more nutritious meals are better able to concentrate in school and enjoy better educational outcomes. Similarly, adults who can easily access and maintain a healthy diet benefit from improved health and economic opportunities. Addressing inequities in access to healthy and nutritious foods cannot be ignored. We must prioritize interventions that give every family the opportunity to be healthy.  

To that end, there are a number of programs that merit continued support and strong expansions, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). For example, WIC has bridged the gap between medicine, food, and nutrition better than almost any federal program, leading to improved nutrition intake, healthier pregnancies and improved birth outcomes. Congress has temporarily increased the overall value of WIC’s fruit and vegetable benefit (or Cash Value Benefit (CVB)) through the end of September 2022. So far, this has led to better access to nutritious foods for over 4.7 million WIC participants. Making the increased benefit permanent will significantly close nutrition gaps for women and their children. 

Improving nutrition also means supporting programs like the recently expired monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC). The revamped CTC monthly payment proved to have an astonishing impact on lifting children and families out of poverty. In 2021, Congress expanded the CTC and made the full credit available to low-income families who previously did not qualify because their earnings were too low. Families were allowed to receive the credit in monthly increments, which was vital in helping families with their everyday expenses like buying nutritious food. It is estimated that 3.7 million children were kept out of poverty in December 2001 when the last child tax credit payments were made. Further, nearly half of families who received the tax credits used the extra funds to purchase food helping to address nutrition insecurity around the country. In January, the first month without the deposits, those gains were lost and 3.7 million children again fell into poverty. 

But we must support the overall health and well-being of women and families with comprehensive approaches to address the root causes of poverty and malnutrition. Employers must implement family-friendly policies and programs in workplaces and communities to support women at home and at work. This includes providing workers with sufficient paid family leave, as well as ensuring equitable access to the lactation services and support women need to meet their breastfeeding goals. These policies help make the workplace and our society a safe and enabling environment. The recent pandemic and subsequent inflation have highlighted not only the critical nature of poverty and nutrition programs, but also the vulnerabilities and gaps in supporting those who need it most. All future policies must prioritize making programs more equitable and effective. While Congress has many competing priorities, we know that voters across all demographics deeply care about ensuring women and their children have access to the nutrition they need to be healthy. For example, a recent bipartisan poll by ALG Research/McLaughlin & Associates, on behalf of the National WIC Association and Alliance to End Hunger, reveals strong support for WIC among likely 2022 voters – 83% total support for the program, and approximately 75% support for expanding the value of the WIC food package, expanding postpartum eligibility, and modernizing WIC services.  

This week, let’s reflect once again on the fundamental importance of nutrition for women and girls across the country, and urge Congress to make access to healthy foods and investment in nutrition programs a priority. Ensuring the health and well-being of those who are pregnant and their children is critically important to our nation’s future and requires both focus and determination of policymakers and advocates. 

1,000 Days, an initiative of FHI Solutions, fights to win support for policies and investments in the wellbeing of mothers, babies and toddlers in the U.S. and around the world. 

Alliance to End Hunger unites diverse sectors to address today’s hunger and malnutrition needs and to solve the root causes of hunger at home and abroad. 

Three Big Things a White House Conference on Nutrition Must Deliver

Image credit: Diego Cambiaso

After more than 50 years, a White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, Hunger and Health is within our grasp. The first conference in 1969 resulted in some of today’s most critical programs to improve food security and nutrition such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program. Revisiting this pivotal conference gives us an additional opportunity to build upon gains over the last five decades to continue to create conditions for families to thrive. And there is no better place to start than from action at the People’ House.

The next White House Conference, to be held in 2022, provides an opportunity to align government, industry, academia, civil society, health care providers, public health and philanthropy around a roadmap to end hunger and improve nutrition and health.

1,000 Days works every day to create a healthier and more equitable future for all pregnant, birthing, postpartum, and parenting people and their children. We lead the fight to build a strong foundation for mothers, children, and families to thrive. The first 1,000 days from pregnancy to age 2 offer a window of opportunity to create a healthier and more equitable future for all.

What three things should this White House conference deliver to fully realize this opportunity for parents and children?

1.  Unity. The science and interventions known to have the greatest return on investment must be prioritized. We know that poor nutrition in the first 1,000 days can cause irreversible damage to a child’s growing brain, affecting their ability to do well in school and earn a good living—and making it harder for a child and their family to rise out of poverty. It can also set the stage for obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases which can lead to a lifetime of health problems. The government, philanthropy, private sector and civil society together must embrace and unify around the irreputable science that nutrition for the mother during pregnancy, while breastfeeding and the right nutrition through infancy and toddlerhood, is the most impactful, critical time.

2.  Equity. Factors such as the color of our skin or the neighborhood we live in should not affect our health and well-being; however, this is a reality in many communities. Social determinants of health, which are conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play – as well as the chronic stress that comes from issues of inequity, like racism – mean that some families do not have access to the resources and support they need to be healthy and prosper during the first 1,000 days and beyond. In particular, families of color and low-income families are more often overburdened and under-resourced. As a result, there are glaring disparities in the health and well-being of moms and babies from these communities. Addressing inequity in access to healthy and nutritious foods cannot be ignored. We must prioritize interventions that support every family to have an opportunity to be healthy.

3.  Action. There is no time to lose. The last White House conference yielded some of the greatest nutrition programs that have continued to save and enhance lives through generations. A focus on identifying specific actions across various sectors must be built into the conference goals from the start. We must be bold, think big, reach across the aisle and not be afraid do whatever it takes to put families on a better path. The White House conference can convene leaders who have the power and influence to drive action for immediate and long-term benefits to families and children.

We stand ready to support a strong, unifying, equitable and action-focused White House Conference on Nutrition and help serve as a voice for the millions of families whose lives are impacted every day by a lack of access to healthy and nutritious foods during the critical 1,000 days.

Nutrition Bills We Support that Protect Families in their 1,000-day Window

The nutrition that people receive leading up to and throughout their pregnancy, as well as the nutrition their babies receive in the earliest years of life, has a profound impact on a child’s ability to grow, learn, and thrive. This month, in honor of National Nutrition Month and as part of our annual #March4Nutrition campaign, 1,000 Days is highlighting some of the nutrition (including breastfeeding-related) legislation that we support. It is our hope that, with these bills enacted, moms, babies, and their families here in the U.S. and around the world will receive the support and resources they need to begin to build a healthier future.

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC):

H.R. 2011 / S. 853, the Wise Investments in our Children (WIC) Act (Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, and Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, R-PR; Sen. Robert Casey, D-PA, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME)

These bills extend WIC eligibility, for women to two years postpartum and allow children to receive benefits through their sixth birthday. It also extends the program certification to two years, which makes it easier for people to continue to receive WIC benefits.

H.R. 4455, the WIC for Kids Act (Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-CT, and Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, R-PR)

This bill makes it easier for families to participate in WIC by providing automatic eligibility to pregnant and postpartum people and children who participate in SNAP, CHIP, Head Start, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. It also extends postpartum eligibility and aligns family certification windows.

H.R. 6781/ S. 3326, the MODERN WIC Act (Rep. Andy Leven, D-MI, and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-WA; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-KS)

These bills make it easier for families to apply for WIC by revising in-person application requirements to allow for video or telephone certifications. It also allows for remote benefit issuance and provides an annual investment in technology upgrades to support the WIC program.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP):

S. 1270, the Access to Healthy Food for Young Children Act (Sen. Robert Casey, D-PA)

This bill supports improved nutritional value of meals and snacks in child and adult care settings by increasing CACFP reimbursement values by 10 cents per meal.  It also streamlines paperwork requirements for child care centers in high poverty areas, making it easier for centers to participate in the program and provide nutritious meals and snacks.

H.R. 5919, the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act (Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-OR, and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-WA)

This bill allows for CACFP providers to serve an additional meal or snack to children in care for a full day and streamlines the certification progress for new providers, expanding access to the program.

 Breastfeeding:

H.R. 3110 / S. 1658, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act (Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-WA; Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-OR, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK)

These bills would expand access to accommodations for expressing breast milk in the workplace, extending protections in the 2010 Break Time law to 9 million currently excluded workers, including teachers and nurses.

H.R. 804 / S. 248, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act (Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY)

These bills would provide comprehensive paid family and medical leave of up to 12 weeks to all workers in the United States. Categorically recognizing paid leave as a public health imperative, this bill has the potential to transform the lives of moms and babies. As research shows, paid leave supports breastfeeding initiation and duration in a number of ways. For example, a mother is more than twice as likely to stop breastfeeding in the month she returns to work compared to a mother who has not yet returned to work.

Global Malnutrition:

H.R. 4693 / S. 2956 the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act of 2021 (Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-NY, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-TX, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and Rep. Young Kim, R-CA; Sen. Chris Coons, D-DE, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-MS, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-VA, and Sen. John Boozman, R-AR)

These bills will bolster the federal government’s efforts to address global malnutrition and build resilience, particularly as the world continues to respond to and recover from COVID-19 and other global shocks. Additionally, it will authorize USAID to advance targeted interventions to prevent and treat malnutrition around the world, ensure a continued focus on multi-sectoral nutrition programs, and require robust monitoring of these interventions to ensure effective use of taxpayer dollars.