Benefits of Early Childhood Nutrition

Nutrition, Health, and Learning Are Linked

The relationship between nutrition, health, and learning is indisputable. Nutrition is one of the major factors that impacts a child’s development, alongside nature and nurture — the other two factors affecting a child’s overall well-being. Research studies consistently show an invariable connection between nutrition and growth, and nutrition in a child’s early years is directly linked to their health and academic performance in later years.

Building a Foundation Through Diet

A healthy, nutritious diet is an essential component in the growth and development of children. It helps build a strong foundation for staying healthy and fit — good food habits ensure robust health, and instilling good eating habits right from childhood guarantees a healthy lifestyle as a child moves into adulthood.

The Most Important Benefits of Early Childhood Nutrition

• Helps build immunity against various infectious diseases.
• Ensures proper development of the brain and other vital organs.
• Improves a child’s activity levels and cognitive functioning.

Nutrition Begins Before Birth

A child’s early years begin before birth when it comes to nutrition. Under-nutrition during pregnancy stunts foetal growth and can lead to poor brain development, resulting in irreversible chronic illnesses. Under-nutrition in a breastfeeding mother will likewise negatively impact a child’s development — especially in the first six months, when breast milk is all the child consumes. Consuming a healthy, balanced diet full of vital nutrients is important for all soon-to-be and new mothers and their child’s needs; proper nutrition in the pre-primary years will ensure healthy, all-round development for children.

Malnutrition and Under-Nutrition

Poor nutrition during early life contributes to stunting, and by the age of two or three can already be associated with cognitive deficits, poor school achievement, and poor social relationships later in life. Malnutrition is a large problem in developing nations, with an important effect on young children’s weight and height: children suffering malnutrition weigh less, and tend to be shorter, than well-nourished children at 36 months.

Malnutrition during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life can cause irreversible physical and mental stunting — making this window especially critical. Infections and parasites related to poor sanitation and hygiene can impact how well nutrients are absorbed in the gut, which is exactly why adequate sanitation and hygiene — rather than food access alone — play a critical role in preventing under-nutrition, malnutrition, and stunting, and in ensuring normal early childhood development.

Malnutrition has also been indicated as a negative influence on childhood IQ — though it’s now suggested that this effect is nullified once parental IQ is factored in, implying that at least part of the difference traces back to genetics rather than nutrition alone.

Key Nutrients and Brain Development

The effect of low iron levels on cognitive development and IQ is still a subject without full consensus. Even so, evidence suggests that well-nourished children with lower (but not deficient) levels of iron and folate have lower IQ than those with higher levels of both. Anaemic children also perform worse on cognitive measures than non-anaemic children.