A Global Perspective On Childhood Stunting

UNICEF stated that, “India, almost half of children younger than five years are stunted, a manifestation of chronic undernutrition. Stunting and other forms of under-nutrition are thought to be responsible for nearly half of all child deaths globally.” Children who are stunting they are facing under developed brain with many long term damaging consequences, as well as mental abilities and learning skills and can cause many problems for their future (UNICEF). Even though the economy in India has developed, the number of the children under the age of five have still been being stunted. According to UNICEF, “48 per cent or 54 million children under-five years in India are stunted. Stunting (inadequate length/height for age) reflects cumulative

Obesity as a result of high calorie non nutritious foods is being linked to an increase in Type 2 diabetes among children. Hunger impairs concentration which impacts educational achievement. Poorer educations results in decreased workforce productivity as an adult; it can be a barrier to self sufficiency and employment, thereby perpetuating the cycle.

A child’s physical development is likely to be affected as they will not grow and thrive at the appropriate rate, becoming under developed as well as under nourished.

A large problem of childhood poverty is malnutrition. Since these children are growing up in poverty, many of the parents have a hard time supplying food for their kids. Surprisingly, there

Malnutrition affects children because it causes lifelong mental impairments and stunts physical growth. IQ of children who

Clear associations between nutritional deficiencies and psychosocial effects have been made. However, the results of the study indicated malnutrition impact on development of infants and toddlers was unknown, but malnutrition in children led to iron-deficiency anemia (Skalicky et al., 2006).

Ideally, research indicates that when young children have some form of nutrition deficiency, they may end up having some serious long-term complications. In the recent past, several researchers have realized that if the serious complications in the health of a child secondary to nutrition deficiency are to be prevented, parents need to intervene before the child is two years old. Normally, this age is considered an optimal window or threshold for growth, as well as prevention of many health complications in children (Jacobovits, 2011). Precisely, the potential complications linked with the stunted growth in height and in weight, secondary to nutritional deficiency include poor cognitive development, compromised bone,

Many nutrition based interventions are done to alleviate nutrient deficiencies. An evidence-based nutrition intervention was done on preventing stunted children

Food insecurity in children have severe impacts to their growth and development. Moreover, nutritious food is critical for a child's physical and psychological development. Without nutritious food kids can develop obesity, abnormalities related to the deficiencies, and compromised immune systems. Therefore, they can have poorer academic outcomes, chronic conditions, hyperactivity, and inattention. Nurses will be one of the first to observe the impacts of child poverty on the children they care

In the article, it states “UNICEF estimates that 161 million children have stunted development because of poor nutrition, UNICEF executive director Tony Lake said.” (Leger, USA Today). The statement I found the most interesting and valuable to supporting my third main point is “A child’s development during the first 1,000 days is critical to intellect, future health and ability to earn a living and contribute to a country’s development, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, managing director and chief operating officer, World Bank Group said.” (Leger, USA Today). I also found another article titled Early Childhood Nutrition Crucial to Child Growth Byline: Mookodi Makhaya, Africa News Service From Opposing Viewpoints in Context. In this article, it states “Mr Ramono said in an interview that children must be given a variety of nutrients, which aided development of both their physical and mental strengths.” (Makhaya, Africa News Service). The evidence I provided from those two articles supports my third main point by proving how good and poor nutrition affects a child's health and abilities to become productive

Malnutrition and undernutrition may cause remarkable complications in brain development, physical growth, and greater susceptibility to a prolonged infection and disease.

The global trend in stunting prevalence and numbers affected is decreasing. Between 2000 and 2013 stunting prevalence declined from 33% to 25% and numbers declined from 199 million to 161 million. In 2013, about half of all stunted children lived in Asia and over one third in Africa. Globally, wasting prevalence in 2013 was estimated at almost 8% and nearly a third of that was for severe wasting, totaling 3%. In 2013, approximately two thirds of all wasted children lived in Asia and almost one third in Africa, with similar proportions for severely wasted children.25

The nutritional double burden, encompassing both undernutrition (stunting, underweight and wasting) and overnutrition (overweight and obesity), has become an important public health challenge in many developing countries. Globally, an estimated 99 million under-five year olds were underweight in 2012, with the low- and -middle income countries of Asia accounting for more than 70 percent of these undernourished children (WHO, 2012a). Although many developing countries have achieved significant reductions in the prevalence of undernutrition during the past two decades, the pace of decline was slow and insufficient to meet the Millennium Development Goals

Nepal Nutrition Section, CHD, DoHS, MoH&P. (2004,p.5 ). Malnutrition is a very common problem in children under five years of age in Nepal and is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality– accounting for more than half of all child deaths. The process of stunting occurs between conception and two years of age, and is an irreversible process. Furthermore, the population of Nepal, especially women and children, are affected by major micronutrient deficiencies. Malnutrition increases the risk of mortality in the early stages of infancy and childhood, impairs cognitive function of those who survive, and hinders efforts to enhance national social and economic development. Stunting, wasting, and underweight are among anthropometric indicators are commonly used to measure malnutrition in a population of under five children.

Stunting in Nepal is an increasingly pressing matter today as more and more children are becoming stunted due to severe malnutrition. Stunting requires attention because it has severe functional consequences, including increased vulnerability to disease and increased risk of mortality, lethargy with reduced capability to benefit from stimulation and reduced learning capacity.