Trueblue
01-20-2008, 09:57 AM
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNR1Gk3Jd7dE&refer=home
Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Inadequate nutrition during pregnancy and infancy causes more than a third of child deaths and is at the root of one in 10 diseases worldwide, new research says.
A quarter of those lives could be saved through simple programs such as promoting breast-feeding and handing out vitamin supplements, researchers including Zulfiqar Bhutta, a professor of child medicine at Pakistan's Aga Khan University, wrote in the Lancet today.
The findings are the result of five studies by pediatricians and disease and health experts highlighting the global problems that severe malnutrition cause. Poor fetal growth or stunting in the first two years of life can lead to irreversible damage, and trigger a spiral of disease for children and future generations.
``There is a golden interval for intervention: from pregnancy to 2 years of age,'' Lancet editor Richard Horton wrote in a commentary. After that, ``undernutrition will have caused irreversible damage for future development towards adulthood.''
Four in five of the world's undernourished children live in just 20 countries, including Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines and South Africa, according to the researchers. Programs in parts of Latin America and China have shown that stunting, wasting and underweight can be countered. The authors called on governments, donor organizations and health groups to work more closely together to tackle the problem.
Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Inadequate nutrition during pregnancy and infancy causes more than a third of child deaths and is at the root of one in 10 diseases worldwide, new research says.
A quarter of those lives could be saved through simple programs such as promoting breast-feeding and handing out vitamin supplements, researchers including Zulfiqar Bhutta, a professor of child medicine at Pakistan's Aga Khan University, wrote in the Lancet today.
The findings are the result of five studies by pediatricians and disease and health experts highlighting the global problems that severe malnutrition cause. Poor fetal growth or stunting in the first two years of life can lead to irreversible damage, and trigger a spiral of disease for children and future generations.
``There is a golden interval for intervention: from pregnancy to 2 years of age,'' Lancet editor Richard Horton wrote in a commentary. After that, ``undernutrition will have caused irreversible damage for future development towards adulthood.''
Four in five of the world's undernourished children live in just 20 countries, including Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines and South Africa, according to the researchers. Programs in parts of Latin America and China have shown that stunting, wasting and underweight can be countered. The authors called on governments, donor organizations and health groups to work more closely together to tackle the problem.