The Impact of Nutritional Interventions on Child Health and Cognitive Development

Despite growing policy commitment and decades of extensive research, nutritional deficiencies remain a key challenge for health systems worldwide. In addition to causing significant personal costs for those affected, indirect effects, such as reduced overall human capital accumulation or losses in labor productivity, can impose substantial obstacles for the achievement of economic development goals. This review provides an overview of the impact of key interventions aiming to improve nutritional intake in order to reach better physical health and cognitive outcomes among children in developing countries. We argue that, although promising interventions exist, malnutrition is a complex problem, likely requiring a stronger focus on multifactorial approaches. Moreover, more research is necessary to maximize compliance and sustainability if interventions are to successfully transform into large-scale policy programs. We further discuss the emerging double burden of malnutrition as a key challenge for policy makers in resource-poor settings.

Download Full-text

CAN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT ALLEVIATE MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY? — EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

The Singapore Economic Review ◽

10.1142/s0217590821440021 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-34

Author(s):

YONGBO GE ◽

YUEXIAO ZHU ◽

WENQIANG ZHANG ◽

XIAORAN KONG

Keyword(s):

Poverty Alleviation ◽

Capital Accumulation ◽

High Speed ◽

Large Scale ◽

Multidimensional Poverty ◽

Infrastructure Development ◽

Public Infrastructure ◽

Regional Heterogeneity ◽

The Impact ◽

Insight Into

We investigate the impact of the construction of large-scale high-speed railways (HSRs) on regional multidimensional poverty in China. We find that the opening of HSRs can reduce this poverty indicator. This association is robust to a series of checks. Regarding the mechanisms, the opening of HSRs can improve regional accessibility, enhance local tourism, increase labor mobility and promote human capital accumulation, which alleviates multidimensional poverty. Further research indicates the regional heterogeneity of the effect. This research supplements poverty alleviation theory from the perspective of public infrastructure and offers insight into how multidimensional poverty arises and how it can be alleviated.

Download Full-text

Boosting Career and Employability Outcomes Through Multiple Learning Abroad Experiences

Journal of Studies in International Education ◽

10.1177/10283153211052775 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102831532110527

Author(s):

Davina Potts ◽

Jeongeun Kim

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Large Scale ◽

Conventional Wisdom ◽

Program Participation ◽

Career Outcomes ◽

Short Term ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Large Scale Dataset ◽

The Impact ◽

Australian Universities

While participation in learning abroad has increased rapidly over the last decade, short-term programs played an important role in boosting participation and widening access to learning abroad. The current study takes advantage of a new pattern of participation in learning abroad to examine self-reported career outcomes and employability development benefits based on program duration and the number of programs undertaken. Using a large-scale dataset of graduates of Australian universities, the study challenges conventional wisdom that a longer experience is better and explores the impact of multiple short-term program participation as a new intervention in graduate career outcomes. Although this study is based on the Australian higher education context, the results may be informative to educators and policy-makers from countries with comparable learning abroad programs in considering how short-term programs can be used more purposefully to foster positive careers and employability outcomes.

Download Full-text

Commensal bacteria differentially shape the nutritional requirements of Drosophila during juvenile growth

10.1101/728774 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jessika Consuegra ◽

Théodore Grenier ◽

Patrice Baa-Puyoulet ◽

Isabelle Rahioui ◽

Houssam Akherraz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Large Scale ◽

Larval Growth ◽

Commensal Bacteria ◽

Nutritional Deficiencies ◽

Nutritional Requirements ◽

Juvenile Growth ◽

Bacterial Strains ◽

Metabolic Intermediate ◽

The Impact

AbstractThe interplay between nutrition and the microbial communities colonizing the gastro-intestinal tract (i.e. gut microbiota) determines juvenile growth trajectory. Nutritional deficiencies trigger developmental delays, and an immature gut microbiota is a hallmark of pathologies related to childhood undernutrition. However, how commensal bacteria modulate the impact of nutrition on juvenile growth remains elusive. Here, using gnotobiotic Drosophila melanogaster larvae independently associated with two model commensal bacterial strains, Acetobacter pomorumWJL (ApWJL) and Lactobacillus plantarumNC8 (LpNC8), we performed a large-scale, systematic nutritional screen based on larval growth in 40 different and precisely controlled nutritional environments. We combined these results with genome-based metabolic network reconstruction to define the biosynthetic capacities of Drosophila germ-free (GF) larvae and its two commensal bacteria. We first established that ApWJL and LpNC8 differentially fulfills the nutritional requirements of the ex-GF larvae and parsed such difference down to individual amino acids, vitamins, other micronutrients and trace metals. We found that Drosophila commensal bacteria not only fortify the host’s diet with essential nutrients but, in specific instances, functionally compensate for host auxotrophies, by either providing a metabolic intermediate or nutrient derivative to the host or by uptaking, concentrating and sparing contaminant traces of micronutrients. Our systematic work reveals that, beyond the molecular dialogue engaged between the host and its commensal partners, Drosophila and its facultative bacterial partners establish an integrated nutritional network relying on nutrients sparing and utilization.

Download Full-text

Key factors affecting people’s unwillingness to be confined during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: a large-scale population study

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-97645-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marina Martinez-Garcia ◽

Alejandro Rabasa ◽

Xavier Barber ◽

Kristina Polotskaya ◽

Kristof Roomp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Important Variable ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Time Period ◽

Economic Support ◽

Gender And Age ◽

Scale Population ◽

The Impact

AbstractPopulation confinements have been one of the most widely adopted non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented by governments across the globe to help contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While confinement measures have been proven to be effective to reduce the number of infections, they entail significant economic and social costs. Thus, different policy makers and social groups have exhibited varying levels of acceptance of this type of measures. In this context, understanding the factors that determine the willingness of individuals to be confined during a pandemic is of paramount importance, particularly, to policy and decision-makers. In this paper, we study the factors that influence the unwillingness to be confined during the COVID-19 pandemic by the means of a large-scale, online population survey deployed in Spain. We perform two types of analyses (logistic regression and automatic pattern discovery) and consider socio-demographic, economic and psychological factors, together with the 14-day cumulative incidence per 100,000 inhabitants. Our analysis of 109,515 answers to the survey covers data spanning over a 5-month time period to shed light on the impact of the passage of time. We find evidence of pandemic fatigue as the percentage of those who report an unwillingness to be in confinement increases over time; we identify significant gender differences, with women being generally less likely than men to be able to sustain long-term confinement of at least 6 months; we uncover that the psychological impact was the most important factor to determine the willingness to be in confinement at the beginning of the pandemic, to be replaced by the economic impact as the most important variable towards the end of our period of study. Our results highlight the need to design gender and age specific public policies, to implement psychological and economic support programs and to address the evident pandemic fatigue as the success of potential future confinements will depend on the population’s willingness to comply with them.

Download Full-text

Yet another lockdown? A large-scale study on people's unwillingness to be confined during the first 5 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

10.1101/2021.05.08.21256792 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marina Martinez-Garcia ◽

Alejandro Rabasa ◽

Xavier Barber ◽

Kristina Polotskaya ◽

Kristof Roomp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Important Variable ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Time Period ◽

Economic Support ◽

Gender And Age ◽

The Impact

Population confinements have been one of the most widely adopted non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented by governments across the globe to help contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While confinement measures have been proven to be effective to reduce the number of infections, they entail significant economic and social costs. Thus, different policy makers and social groups have exhibited varying levels of acceptance of this type of measures. In this context, understanding the factors that determine the willingness of individuals to be confined during a pandemic is of paramount importance, particularly, to policy and decision-makers. In this paper, we study the factors that influence the unwillingness to be confined during the COVID-19 pandemic by means of a large-scale, online population survey deployed in Spain. We apply both quantitative (logistic regression) and qualitative (automatic pattern discovery) methods and consider socio-demographic, economic and psychological factors, together with the 14-day cumulative incidence per 100,000 inhabitants. Our analysis of 109,515 answers to the survey covers data spanning over a 5-month time period to shed light on the impact of the passage of time. We find evidence of pandemic fatigue as the percentage of those who report an unwillingness to be in confinement increases over time; we identify significant gender differences, with women being generally less likely than men to be able to sustain long-term confinement of at least 6 months; we uncover that the psychological impact was the most important factor to determine the willingness to be in confinement at the beginning of the pandemic, to be replaced by the economic impact as the most important variable towards the end of our period of study. Our results highlight the need to design gender and age specific public policies, to implement psychological and economic support programs and to address the evident pandemic fatigue as the success of potential future confinements will depend on the population's willingness to comply with them.

Download Full-text

The Nutrition-COVID-19 Interplay: a Review

Current Nutrition Reports ◽

10.1007/s13668-021-00380-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Janet Antwi ◽

Bernard Appiah ◽

Busayo Oluwakuse ◽

Brenda A. Z. Abu

Keyword(s):

Nutritional Status ◽

Inflammatory Responses ◽

Survival Rates ◽

Nutrition Support ◽

Lifestyle Behaviors ◽

Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽

Omega 3 ◽

Double Burden ◽

Nutritional Interventions ◽

The Impact

Abstract Purpose of Review Nutritional status is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, directly or indirectly. Even with the recent rollout of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and availability of medicines such as remdesivir, and monoclonal antibodies, host nutritional status is pivotal in the fight against the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and outcomes. The purpose of this review is to discuss the effects of COVID-19-related lockdown on lifestyle behaviors, and the nutritional consequences, and the direct sequelae of the infection on nutrition including potential nutritional interventions. Recent Findings The COVID-19-related lockdown imposed radical changes in lifestyle behaviors with considerable short-term and long-term health and nutritional consequences including weight gain and obesity and increased cardiometabolic risk, consistently linked to worsened prognosis. The extent of the impact was dependent on food insecurity, overall stress and disordered eating, physical inactivity, and exposure to COVID-19-related nutrition information sources. COVID-19 could directly induce inflammatory responses and poor nutrient intake and absorption leading to undernutrition with micronutrient deficiencies, which impairs immune system function with subsequent amplified risk of infection and disease severity. Nutrition interventions through nutrition support, dietary supplementation, and home remedies such as use of zinc, selenium, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids showed the most significant promise to mitigate the course of COVID-19 infection and improve survival rates. Summary The nutrition-COVID-19 relationship and related dietary changes mimic a vicious cycle of the double burden of malnutrition, both obesity and undernutrition with micronutrient deficiencies, which promote infection, disease progression, and potential death.

Download Full-text

The impact of food fortification on stunting in Zimbabwe: Does gender of the household head matter?

10.21203/rs.2.21387/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Terrence Kairiza ◽

George Kembo ◽

Asankha Pallegedara ◽

Lesley Macheka

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Household Head ◽

Food Fortification ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Children Under Five ◽

Under Five ◽

Weak Evidence ◽

Gender Based ◽

Female Headed Households ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background: High prevalence of stunting in children under five years poses a major threat to child development in developing countries. It is associated with micronutrient deficiency arising from poor diets fed to children under five years. Food fortification is amongst the interventions focused at reducing the incidence of stunting in children under five years. Methods : Using a large-scale household data from Zimbabwe, we investigated the gender-based importance of household adoption of food fortification on the proportion of stunted children in the household. We employed propensity score matching to mitigate self-selection bias associated with household adoption of food fortification. Results: We offer three major findings. Firstly, we find statistically weak evidence that female headed households are more likely to adopt food fortification than their male counterparts. Secondly, food fortification reduces the proportion of stunted children in the household. Finally, in comparison to non-adopters, female headed households that adopt food fortification are more able to reduce the proportion of stunted children in their households than their male counterparts.Conclusion: The results highlight the need for policy makers to actively promote food fortification, as such interventions are likely to contribute to the reduction of stunting and to involve men in fortification interventions to improve on their knowledge and appreciation of fortified foods and the associated benefits.

Download Full-text

ROADS AND DAMS: INFRASTRUCTURE-DRIVEN TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON

Ambiente & sociedade ◽

10.1590/1809-4422asoc256v1922016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 207-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

EMILIO F. MORAN

Keyword(s):

Energy Production ◽

Large Scale ◽

National Development ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Hydroelectric Dam ◽

Development Goals ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

The Impact ◽

Belo Monte ◽

Social And Environmental Impacts

Abstract From the construction of the Trans-Amazon Highway in the 1970's to the current construction of the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world at Belo Monte, the Brazilian Amazon has experienced the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects. When announced, all these projects purported to be the means to achieve progress, national integration, and economic development. The outcomes after several decades are less clear: national indebtedness, significant social and environmental impacts, and regional development taking second place to other goals such as energy production and national GDP. Solutions are suggested to reduce the negative impacts and achieve the goal of improved livelihoods and sustainable development without giving up on national development goals.

Download Full-text

The impact of food fortification on stunting in Zimbabwe: Does gender of the household head matter?

10.21203/rs.2.21387/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Terrence Kairiza ◽

George Kembo ◽

Asankha Pallegedara ◽

Lesley Macheka

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Household Head ◽

Food Fortification ◽

Fortified Foods ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Major Threat ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Gender Based ◽

Female Headed Households ◽

The Impact

Abstract High prevalence of stunting in under 5 children poses a major threat to child development in developing countries. It is associated with micronutrient deficiency arising from poor diets fed to under 5 children. Food fortification is amongst the interventions focused at reducing the incidence of stunting in under 5 children. Using a large scale household data from Zimbabwe, we investigated the gender based importance of household adoption of food fortification on the proportion of stunted children in the household. We employed propensity score matching to mitigate self-selection bias associated with household adoption of food fortification. We offer three major findings. Firstly we find little evidence for gender differences in the adoption of fortified foods. Secondly, household adoption food fortification reduces the proportion of stunted children in the household. Finally, vis-à-vis non adopters, female headed households that adopt food fortification reduce a larger proportion of stunted children in their households than their male counterparts who adopt food fortification. These results highlight the need for policy makers to actively promote food fortification programmes to involve men in fortification programmes to improve their knowledge and appreciation of fortified foods and the associated benefits.

Download Full-text