Malnutrition stunting the growth of children

A quarter of world's children at risk of under-performing at school, as well living a lifetime with less literate than their peers.
This according to a study by Save the Children, called Food for Thought, which shows that missing out on a nutritious diet can severely damage a child’s ability to read and write simple sentences and answer basic math questions correctly.
The findings come just 10 days before a hunger summit in London on 8 June, taking place in the run-up to this year’s G8 Summit. World leaders will be urged to provide funding to help the lives of millions of children affected by hunger.
“This Save the Children report launched today confirms our worst fears: That malnutrition is both a death sentence for 2 million children who die every year as a result of malnutrition, but it is also a life sentence for millions more children who - because they don’t get the right ingredients at the start of life – their physical and cognitive development is inhibited, so their brains and bodies do not develop properly,” said David McNair, Save the Children's Head of Growth and Livelihoods.
Save the Children conducted a survey of seven thousand children across four countries - Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam - and found that those children who had been malnourished at the start of life consistently performed lower on the ability to read a simple sentence – like “the sun is hot” – but also simple math tests.
“If you look across a child’s life, as they get older, that affects their confidence, their career aspirations and even their ability to earn a living,” McNair told Vatican Radio.
“On average those who are malnourished go on to earn 20% less than those who are well-nourished,” he said. “So this is a really significant issue, both for individual’s potential, but also for whole economies, where you have a country like Afghanistan or India, where almost half the children are malnourished, this has really major economic implications.”
Listen to the interview by Christopher Wells with David McNair: