Malnutrition among children remains a persistent problem around the world. This publication aims to map the challenges within the global landscape of childhood nutrition and considers the importance of nutrition both prior to conception and in children beyond two years of age. Session I provides an updated picture of malnutrition around the world, the recent progress that has been made in eliminating malnutrition in all its forms and several data limitations to track such progress. The role of milk in early life is covered in session II. The chapters describe different aspects of cow’s milk and the possible role of optimized plant proteins as an alternative to dairy ingredients in treating children with severe acute malnutrition. Session III considers the ramifications of environmental constraints to healthy child growth. The chapters cover the issue of how persistent gut damage and systemic inflammation can precipitate malnutrition as well as the putative effects of alterations in the gut microbiota. This overview of diverse issues is relevant to the epidemiology, biology of nutrition in early life, programmatic implications, and future directions.
IX - X: Foreword
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Published:2020
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Book Series: Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop Series
2020. "Foreword", Global Landscape of Nutrition Challenges in Infants and Children: 93rd Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop, Kolkata, March 2019, Kim F. Michaelsen, Lynnette M. Neufeld, Andrew M. Prentice
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Malnutrition among children remains a persistent problem around the world. The latest UNICEF data report that nearly half of all deaths in children under 5 years of age can be attributed to undernutrition. Poor linear growth, or stunting, affects over 150 million children around the world, one-third of whom live in India. Among the 50 million children who are wasted, half are in South Asia; yet this region is also home to a large proportion of the 40 million children who are overweight.
These disquieting results raise several questions. Despite international guidelines on early childhood feeding, why does this problem persist? There is already an extensive body of literature from studies that have tested different combinations of interventions, including dietary, behavioral, educational, and social components. Although the results from these trials can be not convincing, one thing is clear: addressing any factor (or a limited number of factors) in isolation is not enough.
The aim of the 93rd Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop, which took place in India in March 29th–31st, 2019, was to map the challenges within the global landscape of childhood nutrition. The opening session led by Prof. Lynnette M. Neufeld outlined the key barriers faced in pediatric nutrition, from both the global and the local perspectives. Understanding the specific nutrition deficits of a particular population is a first step in addressing the problem. In addition, we must also understand local feeding practices, in order to identify suitable interventions that can strike a balance between effectiveness and safety. The second session chaired by Prof. Kim F. Michaelsen focused on the importance of milk in child growth and its role at different developmental stages during childhood. It also called attention to the key points to be aware of when feeding children a vegan diet and how to use plan protein combinations as a cost-effective alternative to cow’s milk proteins for the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition.
The final session designed by Prof. Andrew M. Prentice took a step broader in order to identify the environmental influences of nutrition. Infections from unhygienic surroundings combined with intergenerational nutritional deficits are major forces that can shape the epigenome and the infant gut microbiome. Together, these aspects of the global landscape of nutrition provide a roadmap toward combating nutritional deficiencies in vulnerable pediatric population around the world.
On behalf of the Nestle Nutrition Institute, I would like to thank the 3 Chairs of the workshop Lynnette M. Neufeld, Kim F. Michaelsen, and Andrew M. Prentice for putting the scientific program together.
We also would like to thank all speakers and scientific experts in the audience, who have contributed to the workshop content and scientific discussions.
Dr. Natalia Wagemans, MD
Global Head
Nestle Nutrition Institute, Switzerland