Key Facts
Childhood Nutrition
- Every year, vitamin and mineral deficiencies cause 1 million children to die before the age of five, 19 million infants to be born with impaired mental capacity, and 100,000 infants to be born with preventable physical defects. (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition [GAIN], 2007)
- Poorly nourished children tend to start school later, progress through school less rapidly, demonstrate poorer academic achievement, and perform less well on cognitive achievement tests when older, including as adults. (IFPRI, Improving Child Nutrition for Sustainable Poverty Reduction in Africa, 2004)
- Adults who were malnourished as children are less physically and intellectually productive, have lower educational attainment and lifetime earnings, and are more vulnerable to chronic illness and disability. (United Nations Children's Fund 1998; Behrman et al. 2004; United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition 2004; see IFPRI, The World's Most Deprived, 2007))
- A growing body of evidence shows that growth lost in the early years of life is, at best, only partially regained during childhood and adolescence, particularly when children remain in poor environments. (IFPRI, Improving Child Nutrition for Sustainable Poverty Reduction in Africa, 2004)