Cognitive ability of malnourished Nigerian children at risk

Good nutrition is critical in developing a child’s cognitive capacity and physical growth. However, ensuring a child receives adequate nutrition during the critical 1,000-day window (from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday), can yield dividends for a lifetime, as a well-nourished child will perform better in school, more effectively fight off disease and even earn more as an adult.

With malnutrition still a major health challenge in developing economies, including Nigeria, malnutrition has remained an underlying cause of child deaths annually. While millions of Nigerian children under the age of five survive, they suffer lifelong physical and cognitive impairments as a result of inadequate nutrients needed early in their lives when their growing bodies and minds were most vulnerable; the negative effects of malnutrition are largely irreversible.

In an interview with BusinessDay, Ngozi Nnam, president, Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), disclosed that malnutrition rates remain high in Nigeria with stunting rate (a child that is too short for their age) at 37 percent; wasting (a child’s weight too low for their height due to acute malnutrition) at 18 percent and underweight (a child’s weight too low for their age due to stunting, wasting or both) at 29 percent.

As the general knowledge of malnutrition remains low and nutrition practices and behaviour for many people at suboptimal level in the country, Nnam hinted that malnourished children lack 13.5 percent of intelligence quotient (IQ).

“If a pregnant woman is malnourished, the child’s certain important brain parts would be irreversibly deformed for life.

Up to 70 percent of brain development happens during pregnancy. 15 percent of a child’s bran develops during the first year of life, with the brain almost completely developed by the second birthday.

“Some nutrients are needed for proper brain development – protein, iron, folate, iodine, some fatty acids from fat and carbohydrates. Inability to provide adequate nutrients for proper development reduces IQ by 13.5 points and its effect is irreversible. Inadequate supply of nutrients during the first 1,000 days leads to stunted growth and predisposes a child to chronic diseases.

That is why Unilever, through the Blue Band Social Mission, is partnering with NSN to address nutrition educational challenges in the country,” Nnam added.

Abimbola Ajayi, director of nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health, noted that poor feeding practices, shortfalls in food intake, and micronutrient deficiency such as Vitamin A and zinc supplements, have been identified as direct causes of childhood malnutrition in Nigeria.

While the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for six months has proved to have an impact on the nutrition and health of children and mothers, Ajayi disclosed that knowledge of nutrition and proper utilisation of locally available nutritious foods is a cost -effective intervention that can be employed to reduce the danger of malnutrition in the country.

Food security is built upon three pillars: sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis; having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet; appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.

With poverty that accounts for the general food insecurity to many households, lack of nutritional knowledge and poor practices have also contributed tremendously towards escalating the prevalence of malnutrition that produces greater part of the foods utilised in the country.

Alexander Chiejina