Experts warn on world child malnutrition

Researchers have warned that poor nutrition causes nearly half of deaths of children under the age of five, about 3.1 million kids, every year in the world.

The team studied different causes of malnutrition in pregnancy and childhood, according to the report published in the Lancet medical journal.

They examined evidence on maternal and child under-nutrition and obesity in low-income and middle-income countries since 2008 and reviewed national and international progress on nutrition programs.

They found that though some improvements have been made during recent years, Å“over 165 million children were affected by stunting (low height for age) and 50 million by wasting (low weight for height) in 2011.”

“The nutritional consequences of the months during pregnancy and the conditions during the first two years of life have very important consequences for mortality and for adult chronic disease,” said the team leader Professor Robert Black, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore.

Moreover, an earlier study reported by Save the Children “a quarter of the world’s children are suffering the effects of chronic malnutrition that is affecting their ability to learn.”

While child healthy nutrition plays vital role in the first two years of life, the experts emphasize that there is a lot more work to do and nutrition Å“must be a global priority.”

Many business leaders, scientists, governments, and civil society are programmed to take part in an international summit in the UK next week to make the financial and political commitments required to tackle the problem.

FGP/FGP

This article originally appeared on: Press TV