Adequate and healthy nutrition are critical for children’s development. However, in many countries around the world children either go hungry and face chronic undernutrition or eat high-caloric foods with little nutritional value which may lead to childhood obesity. The impact on child development of this double challenge was examined in a study of over 6000 infants and toddlers in Ecuador. Results of this study suggest that key motor skills such as sitting, crawling, and walking alone are delayed in children who do not have enough to eat. Obesity did not interfere with these early motor skills but may negatively affect later development. While the results of this study have not been formally published in a scientific journal and still need to go through a rigorous peer-review process, they are still a call to action. Children need to have enough food to thrive and develop the core skills necessary for their future learning. Ensuring that children in Ecuador, the US, and anywhere around the world, have enough to eat should be a top priority for all of us to give future generations a healthy start.
Check out the original research paper at the link below.