RESUMO
The Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) has made major contributions to the study of the effects of malnutrition on learning. This report summarizes work on the relationship of nutrition to children's learning and development from the 1960's through 1998. The Oriente Longitudinal Study examined the effects of two types of supplementation for mothers and young children on their growth and development (an energy-only drink compared with a protein-energy drink) using a quasi-experimental design. Both drinks were supplemented with micronutrients, and were offered daily. As a result of the research on malnutrition and mental development, researchers could conclude by 1993 that supplementary feeding of infants and young children resulted in significant increases cognitive development and school performance through adolescence. The research also suggested that the pathways that link malnutrition with later development are not only through the neurological system but also operate through changes in child behavior which affect the kinds of care children receive. Other research on learning and development showed that families understood the concept of intelligence, demonstrated the link between micronutrients and cognitive development, and documented the amount of wastage or repetition and drop-out that occurs in Guatemalan schools.
Assuntos
Academias e Institutos/história , Transtornos da Nutrição Infantil/história , Cognição/fisiologia , Aprendizagem/fisiologia , América Central/epidemiologia , Criança , Desenvolvimento Infantil/fisiologia , Transtornos da Nutrição Infantil/complicações , Transtornos da Nutrição Infantil/epidemiologia , Transtornos da Nutrição Infantil/fisiopatologia , Pré-Escolar , Transtornos Cognitivos/complicações , Transtornos Cognitivos/etiologia , Transtornos Cognitivos/história , Dieta , Suplementos Nutricionais , História do Século XX , Humanos , Lactente , Deficiências da Aprendizagem/complicações , Deficiências da Aprendizagem/etiologia , Deficiências da Aprendizagem/história , Estado NutricionalRESUMO
The results of a food supplementation study conducted in four chronically malnourished rural villages in Guatemala were analyzed to determine possible effects on the study children's early mental and physical development. One of two food supplements, atole and fresco, were given to pregnant and lactating mothers and the infants born to them up to three years of age. The level of supplement received was noted and the subsequent course of the children's development observed. Food supplementation of pregnant mothers was found to correlate with higher weights of their babies at birth. No other major maternal variables--home diet, body height and/or weight, morbidity, obstetric characteristics, or socioeconomic status--could account for this association. At 36 months of age the children who had received a large amount of food supplementation showed a far lower prevalence of growth retardation than did those who received smaller quantities. Again, this correlation could not be attributed to any other major maternal variables. In regard to mental development, food supplementation was found to correlate with better performance in psychological tests beginning at six months of age. At 36 months the correlations were significant in five different tests. The results of this analysis have wide-ranging implications for public health. Given the recognized association between low birthweight and infant mortality, they point especially to the importance of maternal nutrition during pregnancy in programs aimed at reducing this serious problem (Au)
Assuntos
Deficiências do Desenvolvimento , Dieta , Transtornos do Crescimento , Mortalidade Infantil , Distúrbios Nutricionais , Complicações na Gravidez , Ingestão de Energia , GuatemalaRESUMO
Un estudio de los niños de cuatro aldeas de Guatemala afectados por desnutrición crónica ha demostrado una relación significativa entre suplementación alimentaria durante la gestación y menores prevalencias de retraso en el crecimiento y mortalidad infantil. La suplementación de la dieta de los niños se correlaciona también con un mejor rendimiento en las pruebas psicológicas (AU)