Stunting

Stunting: when?

declining from 1990 to present but still a problem in SSA and parts of Asia

What will not easily reverse stunting?

feeding a stunted child

Stunted mothers are at risk for...

having low brith weigh babies

How is stunting defined?

heigh is more than 2 standard deviations below the median for a child of that age and sex in the healthy reference population

Stunted mothers have higher...

perinatal mortality

indirect causes of stunting

political instability, climate change

Statistics about stunted population

-161 million stunted children in 2013 ->50% in Asia ->33% in SSA

Two arguments for stunting occurring under conditions of undernutrition

-constraint -adaptation

What can stunting do to your body (internally)?

-high glucose concentrations -harmful lipid profiles -diabetes -high blood pressure

argument for adaptation

-natural selection may have produced mechanisms that adjust body size to resource availability -making a child tall may reduce survival when resources are scarce -height is a quantitative trait strongly influenced by environment -natural selection may have designed height to show phenotypic plasticity, which means it responds strongly to the environment

Evolutionary perspective of stunting

-social inequality from selfish pursuit of economic (reproductive) opportunities -adult males control resources/get more protein than women or children -life history trade-offs take resources away from children -polygyny -children < 5 yrs old are vulnerable and powerless

Where is stunting most common?

Sub-saharan Africa and Southeast Asia

How is height measured for children under 2 years old?

by recumbent length

How is height measured for children over 2 years old?

by standing

What does stunting do to cognitive function?

causes poor cognitive function, which means less education, which means less income

What is the effect of undernutrition on brain development?

impaired brain cells

What did Obis and Branca say about stunting?

it is the most prevalent form of child malnutrition

impaired brain cells

limited branching (abnormal, shorter branches)

Prevalence of childhood stunting is an indicator of..

social inequalities

argument for constraint

stunted children have smaller organs

How does stunting lead to limiting economic development?

stunted children have stunted brains and stunted lives

Stunting shortens...

the lifespan

Stunting is passed to...

the next generation

Stunting occurs under conditions of..

undernutrition

Direct causes of stunting

undernutrition, infections that cause poor nutrient intake and absorption, inadequate breastfeeding