30th January 2024 (9 Topics)
Early Nutrition's and Cognitive Development
Context:
Understanding the profound link between early nutrition, cognitive development, and educational outcomes is crucial. A study sheds light on how childhood stunting affects cognitive skills, emphasizing the need for effective policies to enhance educational outcomes, especially in low- and middle-income countries like India.
Background and Challenges:
The interrelation: While the long-term impact of early childhood stunting on education is acknowledged, the specific cognitive skills impacted are: working memory, inhibitory control, long-term memory, and implicit learning. The focus shifts from traditional achievement tests to broader cognitive abilities.
Challenges in Research: The study addresses a challenge in research, which often focuses on specific cognitive-achievement test scores, potentially overlooking the complex interplay of cognitive skills and access to education.
Nutrition and Skills: Cognitive skills, being less dependent on educational investments, provide a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of early under-nutrition on later cognitive abilities.
Key Findings and India’s perspective:
-Impact: a negative relationship between stunting at age 5 and executive functions measured years later. The impact on working memory, influenced by vocabulary development, manifests as early as age 5, highlighting the critical importance of early childhood nutrition.
- Women’s Status: Women's height and educational attainment strongly predict child stunting in India, emphasizing the need for interventions that improve these factors.
- Policy Measures: Policies like Poshan Abhiyaan and the Integrated Child Development Services, focusing on holistic development and nutrition, address the issue of stunting in high-burden districts.
Strategies for Improvement:
Promoting Early Breastfeeding: Expansion of initiatives like the Mother’s Absolute Affection Programme for lactation support. Leveraging mobile technology to educate mothers on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months.
Diversifying Children's Diet: Implementation and scaling up of community-based complementary feeding programs. Educating parents about the significance of adding diverse, locally available, nutrient-rich foods to a child's diet after six months.
Enhancing Anganwadi Workforce: Adding an extra Anganwadi worker to each center to double preschool instructional time. Studies suggest this approach can improve math and language scores, reduce stunting, and create substantial employment opportunities.
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