Research Confirms Children Need Adequate Nutrition to Learn

Research Confirms Children Need Adequate Nutrition to Learn

Chronically malnourished children are on average nearly 20% less literate than those who have a nutritious diet, according to ground-breaking new research out from Save the Children.

The study sheds new light on how missing out on nutritious food can impact on a child’s cognitive development, and its far-reaching effects on economic growth.

The research shows that not having a nutritious diet can severely impair a child’s ability to read and write a simple sentence and answer basic maths questions correctly – regardless of the amount and quality of schooling they have received.

Poor nutrition is driving a literacy and numeracy crisis in developing countries, and is also a huge barrier to further progress in tackling child deaths.

And it’s not just in developing countries that children are struggling to learn because they are hungry. Here in New Zealand we face a similar issue of making sure children have the nutrition they need to develop their full potential.

“It is pleasing to see that the Government has started to address the issue of children going hungry to school. We look forward to seeing how they will act in the future to combat the underlying issue of poverty in New Zealand,” said Heather Hayden, Save the Children New Zealand’s chief executive.

The research for Food for Thought was based on studies of thousands of children in four countries (Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam) and found that at the age of eight, children who are stunted due to chronic malnutrition are 19% more likely to make a mistake reading a simple sentence like “I like dogs” or “The sun is hot” than they would have been expected to do had they not been stunted.

Stunted children are 12.5% more likely to make a mistake writing a simple sentence and do 7% worse answering simple maths questions like “What is 8 minus 3?” than they would have been expected to do had they not been stunted.

“When I was going to school I used to struggle with lessons because I had often gone without any food.” Gatluak, 10, South Sudan
“Those children who come to school after having their breakfast do well. This is difficult for me as I don’t get enough to eat.” Shambel, 12, Ethiopia

Save the Children New Zealand has also heard from children themselves on the issue. The topic of hunger has been discussed by children and young people on Save the Children’s Values Exchange forum.  When asked what the most pressing issue regarding New Zealand poverty was, more than 40% of children responding via the Values Exchange answered “hunger”.

Save the Children’s report also highlights the huge economic cost of not addressing chronic malnutrition.

ENDS

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