Poor nutrition in school years may have created 20 cm [7.9 in] height gap across nations

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/icl-pni110420.php

News Release 5-Nov-2020
Imperial College London

A new global analysis led by Imperial College London, and published in journal The Lancet, has assessed the height and weight of school-aged children and adolescents across the world.

The study, which used data from 65 million children aged five to 19 years old in 193 countries, revealed that school-aged children's' height and weight, which are indicators of their health and quality of their diet, vary enormously around the world.

There was a 20 cm [7.9 in] difference between 19-year-olds in the tallest and shortest nations - this represented an eight-year growth gap for girls, and a six-year growth gap for boys. For instance, the study revealed that the average 19-year-old girl in Bangladesh and Guatemala (the nations with the world's shortest girls) is the same height as an average 11-year-old girl in the Netherlands, the nation with the tallest boys and girls.

The international team behind the study warn that highly variable childhood nutrition, especially a lack of quality food, may lead to stunted growth and a rise in childhood obesity - affecting a child's health and wellbeing for their entire life.


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