Food supplementation for improving the physical and psychosocial health of socio-economically disadvantaged children aged three months to five years

Abstract

Food supplementation for improving the physical and psychosocial health of socio-economically disadvantaged children aged three months to five years.

Stunting, starvation and refeeding: a review of forgotten 19th and early 20th century literature

“…In 2012, the same authors (5) carried out a meta-analysis of community-based supplementary feeding in children under five years of age in lowincome and middle-income countries and concluded that supplementary feeding has a negligible impact on child growth. Even socioeconomically disadvantaged children, when supplemented, only grew an average of 0.27 cm more over 6 months than those who were not supplemented (6). The data did not question that severe starvation coincides with growth inhibition, but the net effect of nutrition on body height was generally small (7).…”

How Much Nutrition for How Much Growth?

“…In 2012, the same authors [23] meta-analyzed community-based supplementary feeding in children under 5 years of age in low- and middle-income countries and concluded that though the scarcity of available studies still made it difficult to reach firm conclusions – there is a need for additional studies – supplementary feeding has a negligible impact on child growth. Kristjansson et al [24] showed in randomized controlled trials in socioeconomically disadvantaged children that even these children, when supplemented, only grew an average of 0.27 cm more over 6 months than those who were not supplemented. In a meta-analysis of 7 controlled before-and-after studies, they found no evidence of an effect on height, whereas meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials demonstrated benefits for weight-for-age z -scores.…”

Stunted growth

“…In 2012, the same authors 11 meta-analysed community-based supplementary feeding in children under 5 years of age in low-and middle-income countries and concluded that although the scarcity of available studies still made it difficult to reach firm conclusions-there is a need for additional studies -supplementary feeding has a negligible impact on child growth. Kristjansson et al 12 showed in randomised controlled trials in socioeconomically disadvantaged children that even these children when supplemented only grew an average of 0.27 cm more over 6 months than those who were not supplemented. In a meta-analysis of seven controlled before-and-after studies, they found no evidence of an effect on height, whereas meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials demonstrated benefits for weightfor-age z-scores.…”