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Undernutrition and growth in the developing world
Jasreena K Nijjar1, Diane Stafford2
1Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Insights
Millions of children globally remain stunted due to nutritional deficits. This review explores how nutrition impacts longitudinal bone growth and stunting in developing nations, highlighting areas for future research.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Growth and Development
- Global Health
Background:
- An estimated 150.8 million children under 5 years globally are stunted, with high prevalence in Asia and Africa.
- Childhood stunting remains a significant public health challenge in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on nutritional regulation of longitudinal bone growth in the developing world.
- To summarize the impact of dietary macronutrients and micronutrients on child growth.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent advances in understanding nutritionally sensitive growth regulators.
- Prospective evaluations of specific dietary components' impact on growth.
Main Results:
- Investigations into nutritionally sensitive regulators of growth have advanced.
- Prospective evaluations are assessing the impact of specific dietary components on growth.
Conclusions:
- Further research is needed to elucidate nutrition's impact on growth and stunting mechanisms.
- Optimizing therapeutic strategies for at-risk or stunted children in LMICs requires further investigation.
Purpose Of Review:
Despite targeted interventions, an estimated 150.8 million children under 5 years globally are still stunted, of which more than half live in Asia and more than one-third live in Africa. This review summarizes our current knowledge regarding how longitudinal bone growth is regulated by nutritional intake in the developing world. Dietary macronutrients and micronutrients necessary for growth are also briefly reviewed.
Recent Findings:
Recent advances include investigations of nutritionally sensitive regulators of growth as well as prospective evaluations of the role of specific dietary components on growth in order to better assess their impact.
Summary:
Further investigation is required to understand how nutrition impacts growth, the mechanisms underlying stunting and to optimize therapeutic strategies for children who are at risk for growth attenuation or are stunted in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
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