...The detrimental effect of malnutrition on school achievement Evidence from two districts of Madagascar Frédéric Aubery∗ October 2012 Abstract The numerous school feeding programs around the world rest on the assumption that better nutrition leads to better results at school but the relationship between nutrition and school achievement is complex and difficult to estimate. Unobservable school, parents and child’s characteristics could have an impact on both nutrition and educational outcomes, resulting in a severe endogeneity problem. Based on a large data set from Madagascar (with nearly 6000 pupils), this paper tries to estimate the causal relationship between nutrition and school achievement with the help of an instrumental variable method. Variation in the total amount of rainfall from a year to an other during the five first years of a child’s life is used as an exogenous instrument to predict the long term nutritional status. Once instrumented the effect of nutrition over test scores appears to be larger, meaning that OLS estimates of this relationship were underestimated. Keywords : Nutrition, education, school feeding program. JEL codes : I25 , O12. PhD Candidate - Centre d’Etude et de Recherche sur le Développement International (CERDI) fred.aubery@gmail.com ∗ 1 1 Introduction Despite their high intervention costs, school feeding programs are widespread accross the world. According to Galloway et al. [2009], the mean cost of a school feeding program (SFP)...
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...learners at two primary schools in Chivi, Zimbabwe. Its main objective is to identify mitigation policies and measures designed to reduce negative effects of poor nutrition on children’s academic performance. Malnutrition remains one of the major obstacles to human well-being affecting all areas of a child's growth and development, including performance in the classroom. The study is grounded in Maslow’s motivational and needs theory. In this study, a qualitative phenomenological case study design was used with focus group discussions, interviews and observations as data collection instruments to twelve (12) grade seven learners, three (3) headmasters and four (4) teachers, purposively sampled in Masvingo province. Findings revealed that malnutrition affected physical growth, cognitive development and it consequently impacts on academic performance, health and survival of learners. Malnutrition also deepens poverty due to increased health care costs. The study also established that hungry and undernourished grade seven learners were not able to take on physical work and sporting activities seriously, are less able to attend school and if they do, are less able to concentrate and learn. On the way forward, there is need to introduce nutritional gardens at community, school and at family levels. Addressing the root causes of malnutrition (such as food insecurity, poverty, population growth and socio-economic instability) is imperative for achieving sustained reductions in...
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...Introduction Malnutrition as defined is the lack of a sufficient quantity or quality of nutrients to maintain the body system at some definable level of functioning. It has been estimated that 37-80 percent of all pre-school children in the developing countries like Philippines suffer from protein calorie malnutrition as assessed by the manifestation of syndromes, nutritional indexes, and weight deviations (Bengoa, 1974). Mild to moderate malnutrition, also called chronic under nutrition, is much more common than severe forms, and is often difficult to recognize. The severe forms are either due to insufficient protein and calories (marasmus) or to an acute protein loss or deprivation (kwashiorkor). At present, when increasing investment in our educational programs is being made to improve the performance of the schoolchildren however, to some extent this are being wasted. Children are not reaching their full intellectual potential consequently, predispose to school failure. In public elementary schools particularly the Kalibo Elementary School I, where malnutrition is prevalent among schoolchildren, it is observed that children has low attention-span, lack interest and decreased ability to focus on tasks, and restlessness. These likely to interfere with their learning ability and in this way resulted to their poor school performance. However, this has yet be proven, whether malnutrition impair the learning ability and school performance of schoolchildren. It is for this reason...
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..._____________________________________________________________________ CREDIT Research Paper No. 01/05 _____________________________________________________________________ Reducing Child Malnutrition: How Far Does Income Growth Take Us? by Harold Alderman, Simon Appleton, Lawrence Haddad, Lina Song and Yisehac Yohannes _____________________________________________________________________ Centre for Research in Economic Development and International Trade, University of Nottingham 2 The Centre for Research in Economic Development and International Trade is based in the School of Economics at the University of Nottingham. It aims to promote research in all aspects of economic development and international trade on both a long term and a short term basis. To this end, CREDIT organises seminar series on Development Economics, acts as a point for collaborative research with other UK and overseas institutions and publishes research papers on topics central to its interests. A list of CREDIT Research Papers is given on the final page of this publication. Authors who wish to submit a paper for publication should send their manuscript to the Editor of the CREDIT Research Papers, Professor M F Bleaney, at: Centre for Research in Economic Development and International Trade, School of Economics, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UNITED KINGDOM Telephone (0115) 951 5620 Fax: (0115) 951 4159 CREDIT Research Papers are distributed free...
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...Malnutrition is a condition resulting from the deficiency of nutrients and energy provided to the body in comparison to its needs to be able to function properly (Atinmo 41). One in five developing countries such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa are afflicted by malnutrition specifically targeting children and those who live in rural areas defined by poverty (Atinmo 40). This chronic hunger has many negative affects on the people who live daily with this condition. Malnutrition stunts physical growth, lags learning capacities, increases a persons risk of developing a disease, and causes individuals to become weak not allowing them to work contributing to their poverty (Atinmo 40). Many factors contribute to the severe hunger of these people including...
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...Alcoholism and Malnutrition International Nutrition: The World Food Crisis FSNU-201 April 21, 2013 Alcoholism and Malnutrition Malnutrition is a condition that is caused by an imbalance between what someone eats and the nutrients that they need to maintain good health and proper body function. (Mandal, n.d.) Not eating enough food to maintain proper body function, or eating an imbalanced diet that does not provide the nutrients needed to maintain a balanced level of health, will cause a person to become malnourished. (Mandal, n.d.) In order to stay healthy, individuals need to consume foods from a number of different food groups including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, dairy and a minimum of five daily portions of fruits and vegetables which contain many of the essential vitamins and minerals. (McGuire & Beerman, 2009, p. 331) Anyone can become malnourished if they do not consume the necessary amount of nutrients to fulfill their nutritional needs, or if they have an unhealthy diet such as those, who for example, misuse alcohol. Many studies show that people who misuse alcohol can eventually become malnourished due to the fact that alcohol contains just enough calories to curb hunger, but it does not contain the necessary nutrients that are required to stay healthy. As a result, alcoholics often suffer from a number of serious health conditions including damage to internal organs such as the liver, heart and the brain. (Casa Palmera Staff, 2010) Someone may ask...
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...Malnutrition: a serious THREAT Introduction Malnutrition is one of world’s most serious problems. When I was preparing for the final presentation for the class, which was on impact of child on the globe, I was shocked and taken aback with the numbers that fell under this category. 32% of the global burden of diseases can be removed by eliminating malnutrition. It also contributes to 50% of child deaths under the age group of fivei. All these figures made me look into details of who is doing what to overcome this devastating epidemic and how it is affecting our economy. This paper will illustrate the impact of malnutrition on businesses and economies, and how it has altered my outlook towards life. Malnutrition is not only an urgent global health issue; it is also a hitch to productivity, economic growth and poverty reduction. We again end up asking the unchanged question, who is responsible? Definition UNICEFii defines malnutrition as a broad term commonly used as an alternative to undernutrition but technically it also refers to overnutrition. People are malnourished if their diet does not provide adequate calories and protein for growth and maintenance or they are unable to fully utilize the food they eat due to illness (undernutrition). They are also malnourished if they consume too many calories (overnutrition). Words like GDP and GNP which was covered in the class, provided me with a different perspective to the situation. I took time to review the effect of malnutrition...
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...Malnutrition in Bangladesh 1. Introduction: Malnutrition is globally the most important risk factor for illness and death, contributing to more than half of deaths in children worldwide. It is one of the most important underlying causes of child mortality in developing countries, particularly during the first 5 years of life; the major causes for this are poverty, world conflicts, lack of education, natural disasters and poor access to health care. Nearly one-third of children in the developing world are malnourished. The effects of changing environmental conditions in increasing malnutrition are multifactorial. Poor environmental conditions may increase insect and protozoal infections and also contribute to environmental deficiencies in micronutrients. Overpopulation, more commonly seen in developing countries, can reduce food production, leading to inadequate food intake or intake of foods of poor nutritional quality. Conversely, the effects of malnutrition on individuals can create and maintain poverty, which can further hamper economic and social development. Bangladesh being the eighth most populous country in the world, and one of the poorest a significant progress has been made in recent years in reducing the incidence of poverty and malnutrition, the fact remains that roughly half of its 15.5 million citizens live in deprivation, while roughly half of all children under 6 years show some evidence of chronic malnutrition. Poverty and malnutrition in Bangladesh...
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...stunting) despite the latter’s higher poverty rates. A key underlying factor, maternal malnutrition remains intractable despite efforts to improve the nutritional status of pregnant women. Iron deficiency anemia affects nearly 50% of all pregnant and lactating women. A direct consequence of this is low birth weight, which affects 30-50% of all newborns. It limits children’s growth potential and increases their vulnerability to infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases later in life. It also damages their ability to learn and develop useful skills, which exposes them to poverty and further under nutrition. Bangladesh is thus characterized by a cycle of intergenerational poverty, ill-health and malnutrition. To-date, public sector investments to address this have had very little impact because they were limited in scale and scope. Malnutrition is a multi-dimensional problem requiring interventions that cut across sectorial boundaries. Sustained improvements in nutrition outcomes are achieved not only through improved food security, but also changes in behaviours and knowledge regarding dietary diversity, child care and health care. Such changes require broader interventions that cut across multiple sectors such as food and agriculture, water and sanitation, education and health. In Bangladesh, malnutrition has largely been viewed as a health issue, with interventions to address malnutrition channeled almost exclusively through the health sector. Such interventions have failed...
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...INTRODUCTION Existing knowledge about the effect of nutrition on the development and educational outcomes in children and the current dietary practices of schoolchildren has led to specific questions about the impact of nutritional intake on the educational experience. The diet of children has risen to the top of the political agenda, not only for the potential health repercussions later in life, but also for its immediate effects on the physical and mental health of children and their consequent school experience and attainment. Child malnutrition still remains as one of the biggest problems that constrain school children from attending or performing well in school. Based on a Department of Education analysis of 50 public primary or elementary schools in some of the most impoverished provinces in the country, an average of up to 30 percent or almost one-third of the students weighed and interviewed were either mildly or severely malnourished. This echoes a World Health Organization report that over 30 percent of children in the country are malnourished. When you say malnutrition, it just means bad nutrition. Everyone who has bad nutrition usually does not have nutrients that a healthy body has. Children are usually the ones being affected by this condition, especially here in the Philippines. Child health is known to have important long-term effects on productivity during adulthood. As children are the future of every country, their situation is always of concern to policy...
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...The Concepts of Nutritional Health What is a Healthy Diet? (DRV/ RNI) Healthy eating means consuming the right quantities of foods from all food groups in order to lead a healthy life. Diet is often referred to as some dietary program for losing weight. However, diet simply means what food we eat in the course of a 24-hour, one week, or one month, etc. A good diet is a nutritional lifestyle that promotes good health. A good diet must include several food groups because one single group cannot provide everything a person needs for good health. DRV- Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) are the complete set of nutrient recommendations and reference values, given by the government. DRVs can be used for reference values in food labelling and for establishing food-based dietary guidelines. RNI- Reference Nutrient Intake is the value amount of a nutrient required for an individual to prevent deficiency within themselves. For example: Many people need less than the RNI. The difference between Meals and Snacks The difference between a meal and snack is that a meal is usually made up of a variety of different nutrients. Whereas snacks are a single type of food, which you have with a drink, it may be of low nutritional contents. Therefore it is very unhealthy. . However snacks, if wholesome and healthy substances, are a good thing if you eat them for the right reasons at the right time. Moreover meals are prepared and cooked, for example your breakfast and afternoon Lunch...
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...developed, industrialized countries, the following groups of people are at highest risk of malnutrition. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the number of people globally who were malnourished stood at 923 million in 2007, an increase of over 80 million since the 1990-92 base period. In 2006, more than 36 million people died of hunger or diseases due to deficiencies in micronutrients; accounted for 58% of the total mortality in the same year. Under nutrition contributes to almost 35% of the estimated 7.6 million deaths under-5 deaths; consequently affecting the future health and socioeconomic development and productive potential of the society. The malnourished are unable to live a normal life, are less likely to fulfill their potential as human beings and cannot contribute fully to the development of their own countries. Nutrition is the provision of adequate energy and nutrients (in terms of amount and mix and timelines) to the cells for them to perform their physiological function of (growth, reproduction, defence, repair e.t.c). The World Health Organization defines malnutrition as "the cellular imbalance between supply of nutrients & energy and the body's demand for them to ensure growth, maintenance, and specific functions”. Malnutrition comprises both; Under nutrition and Over nutrition The World Health Organization (WHO) says that malnutrition is by far the largest contributor to child mortality globally, currently present in 45 percent...
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...INTRODUCTION Existing knowledge about the effect of nutrition on the development and educational outcomes in children and the current dietary practices of schoolchildren has led to specific questions about the impact of nutritional intake on the educational experience. The diet of children has risen to the top of the political agenda, not only for the potential health repercussions later in life, but also for its immediate effects on the physical and mental health of children and their consequent school experience and attainment. Child malnutrition still remains as one of the biggest problems that constrain school children from attending or performing well in school. Based on a Department of Education analysis of 50 public primary or elementary schools in some of the most impoverished provinces in the country, an average of up to 30 percent or almost one-third of the students weighed and interviewed were either mildly or severely malnourished. This echoes a World Health Organization report that over 30 percent of children in the country are malnourished. When you say malnutrition, it just means bad nutrition. Everyone who has bad nutrition usually does not have nutrients that a healthy body has. Children are usually the ones being affected by this condition, especially here in the Philippines. Child health is known to have important long-term effects on productivity during adulthood. As children are the future of every country, their situation is always of concern to policy...
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...which often only affects one side of the body and is one of the most common symptoms of a stroke. It can also cause swallowing difficulties (dysphagia), speech and language (dysphasia) can be affected also, patient may have difficulty in understanding and basic things such as reading and writing following stroke. Problems with eyesight, perception and interpretation, mental processes, bladder and bowels, mood swings, sensation and pain can all be experienced by an individual following a stroke (NHS Choices, 2008). Strokes are a major health problem within the United Kingdom (Mant et al, 2004). The National Audit Office (2005) states that approximately 110,000 people yearly suffer a stroke and over 900,000 people are living with the effects of stroke in England, many of which whom depend upon others to help them...
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...affected by malnutrition in America. Malnutrition results from a diet which is lacking in nutrients and it affects children most because they are in great need of the right amount of nutrients in their growing years. Malnutrition is also associated with rich diet lacking in nutrients which is the case with many of the developed countries of the world. It is important to maintain health standards in world’s one of the most developed country like America. Malnutrition can result into a number of nutrition disorders which include abundance or deficiency of important nutrients required from food (Water H. R., Penny M. E., R. C., Narro R., Willis J., Caulfield L. E., & Black, 2008). The increased uptake of unhealthy food products is also one of the main reasons of malnutrition. Children aged less than 18 are the main victims of the food irregularities. The data collected in this paper includes the communities of America and according to statistics there are around 16 million children in America who live in food insecurity in recent times. The problem is rarely a concern for adults because they are more aware of their nutrition choices and adult body is developed and not requires a continued supply of nutrients which is the case with children. Children under the age of 5 years are at the greatest risk of developing malnutrition. There are food secure and food insecure states defined based on the findings of the Community health services for children suffering from malnutrition (Schaible...
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