https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/930154
News Release 30-Sep-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of California - Davis
A small sachet of a fortified food-based supplement added to young children’s daily diets in low- and middle-income countries has shown remarkable results in preventing child mortality and malnutrition, while also promoting healthy development. The new findings from researchers at the University of California, Davis, based on an analysis combining data from 14 trials, were published in a series of four papers in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The study examined randomized trials in which children, ages 6 to 24 months old, were given about 4 teaspoons (20 grams) per day of a lipid-based nutrient supplement, which is a paste that typically includes oil, peanut butter, milk powder, vitamins and minerals. The trials were conducted in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa as well as Bangladesh and Haiti.
“This is the first intervention for children to show beneficial effects across four different outcomes of child health, including growth, development, anemia and mortality,” said project leader Kathryn Dewey, distinguished professor emerita in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition and Institute of Global Nutrition. Dewey played a key role in a collaborative research group that developed various formulations of the small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements starting in 2003.
The study included more than 37,000 children. Those who received the supplements had a 12% to 14% lower prevalence of stunted growth and of being underweight for their height, and a 16% to 19% lower prevalence of adverse language, social-emotional and motor development outcomes. The children also had a 16% lower prevalence of anemia and a 64% lower prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia. This builds on previous research demonstrating a 27% reduction in mortality between 6 and 24 months of age among children provided with the supplements.
-----
No comments:
Post a Comment