Nutritional status as a determinant of cognitive development among preschool children in South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose – Improving the health of children under the age of five is one of the main objectives of primary healthcare services in most developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to identify the nutritional status of children under the age of five and its impact on cognitive function. Design/methodology/approach – The cross-sectional study was carried out in a semi-urban community in south-western Nigeria. The sample consisted of 220 school children under the age of five. Anthropometric measurements including weight, height and mid arm circumference were carried out to determine the nutritional status of the children. Cognitive function of the children was assessed using a developmental checklist developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and their performance was graded as good, fair and poor. Findings – The overall prevalence of malnutrition in this study was low with stunting, underweight and wasting recording 8.2, 6.8 and 1.8 percent, respectively thereby making stunting the most common malnutrition indicator in this study. A large proportion of the children (88.6 percent) had good cognitive performance while 11.4 and 5.5 percent had fair and poor cognitive performance, respectively. Among the various malnutrition indicators measured in this study, stunting was found to have a statistically significant association with cognitive development (p=0.005).Stunted children have multiple functional disadvantages that persist throughout childhood and poor nutrition almost certainly plays a role. This paper calls for a need for the Nigerian Government to intervene by ensuring that policies are implemented that will ensure that health and nutritional needs of preschool children are guaranteed right from conception. Originality/value – In view of the importance of nutrition for cognition in children, this research has shown that the cognitive function of preschool children can be affected by stunting and it has contributed to global data on nutrition and cognition particularly in South-Western Nigeria.

Stimulation and cognitive function in short-stature preschoolers

“…Eventhough, one growth-stunted child had below-average VIQ and FSIQ, with a history of high levels of stimulation from the environment, the child's cognitive function was not as poor as children in other study. 26 We found a positive correlation between stimulation and general cognitive function in normalheight children. Although the correlation was weak and the effect was small, it shows that stimulation can influence cognitive function.…”

“…In contrast, a previous study showed that 16.7% of short-stature children diagnosed with stunted growth had poor cognitive status. 26 This difference was probably because most of our shortstature subjects were diagnosed as normal variants, leaving a small sample size of growth-stunted children (2 subjects).…”

Perilaku Mengonsumsi Ikan Dan Pengaruhnya Terhadap Kemampuan Kognitif

“…Semakin lama tahun pendidikan Ibu,maka peluang anak untuk mempunyai kognitif tinggi semakin meningkat. Hasil ini sejalan dengan penelitian (Puspitasari, Sudargo & Gamayanti, (2011), Warsito et al (2012), dan Onifade, Otegbayo, Akinyemi, Oyedele, & Akinlade (2016). Hal tersebut dapat disebabkan karena Ibu yang berpendidikan tinggi lebih terbuka terhadap hal-hal baru dan informasi yang bermanfaat dari berbagai media, sehingga memiliki pemahaman lebih baik perihal perkembangan anak.…”

Actor’s Network of Stunting Prevention Program in Bandar Lampung City, Lampung, Indonesia

“…In simple terms, stunting is the phenomenon of failure of a child's physical development due to malnutrition experienced by infants under five years or while still in the womb. Stunting, which has an impact on children's physical and cognitive growth [3], in the long run will affect the future of a nation in many sectors. People who grow short, of course, will have different physical abilities from residents of normal height.…”