CHRONICALLY malnourished children are on average nearly 20% less literate than those who have a nutritious diet, according to new research from a charity.
In the first international study of its kind, Save the Children has shed new light on how missing out on nutritious food can impact on a child’s cognitive development, and its far-reaching effects on economic growth.
Recent studies suggest the global economic impact of malnutrition could be up to approximately £80bn.
The Save the Children findings come on the back of previous research, including studies carried out in Scotland, that health and particularly nutrition are important influences on attainment throughout a child’s life.
Many report that better nutrition has positive influences on neurological development of the brain and behaviour conducive to learning.
The Save the Children research has been published just days before a global nutrition summit in London in advance of this year’s G8 where world leaders, the charity claims, could provide the necessary funding to transform the lives of millions of children affected by malnutrition.
Save the Children says that despite enormous progress in other areas – such as a halving in the number of child deaths over the last two decades – malnutrition is acting as “an Achilles heel to development” and that momentum will stall if the world fails to tackle the condition.
Over 25 of the world’s best-loved children’s authors and illustrators including Rod Campbell, the Scots-born author of Dear Zoo, have called on G8 leaders to step up their efforts to tackle hunger around the world.
Julia Donaldson, the Children’s Laureate and author of the best seller The Gruffalo, said the devastating impact of malnutrition should not be underestimated.
“It stunts a child’s development, sapping the strength of their mind as well of their body, depriving them of the chance to be able to read or write a simple sentence.
“Leaders attending this summit have a golden opportunity to stop this. They must invest more funding to tackle malnutrition if we are to stop a global literacy famine.”
The Food for Thought report reveals that not having a nutritious diet can severely impair a child’s ability to read and write a simple sentence and answer basic maths questions correctly – regardless of the amount and quality of schooling they have received.
The research was based on studies of thousands of children in four countries – Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam – and found that at the age of eight, children who are stunted due to chronic malnutrition are 19% more likely to make a mistake reading a simple sentence.
Stunted children are 12.5% more likely to make a mistake writing a simple sentence.
With an estimated one in four of the world’s children stunted, the new findings point to a literacy and numeracy crisis in the developing world directly driven by poor nutrition.
Save the Children chief executive Justin Forsyth said: “These findings confirm our very worst fears – that poor nutrition is capable of seriously damaging a child’s life chances before he or she even sets foot in a classroom.
“We have made huge progress in tackling child deaths, but having a quarter of the world’s children at risk of under-performing at school will have grave consequences for the fight to end global poverty.”
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