Jamaican studies in nutrition and child development, and their implications for national development
Methods: In a hospital in Jamaica, a study compared the developmental levels of 18 children suffering from severe protein energy malnutrition (PEM) with those of 15 sufficiently nourished children. Even though both groups had low scores on the Griffiths' test, the malnourished children had a significantly lower score than the controls. Upon recovery, both groups improved at the same speed, resulting in a continual deficit of the malnourished group. Another study in Jamaica involved longterm psychosocial stimulation at the hospital and then at home with children with severe PEM. They were compared with another severely malnourished group who received no intervention and with an adequately nourished group. The case group caught up with the adequately nourished group within 2 years. 6 years after intervention, their school grades in spelling and reading were significantly higher than those of the non- intervention malnourished group. Another study in Jamaica showed that factors associated with stunting, and not an acute episode of malnutrition, accounted for poor developmental levels in severely malnourished children. Studies with children suffering from mild to moderate undernutrition suggested that food supplementation improves stunted children's development and that a link exists between their underlying nutritional status and short-term food deprivation. None of the aforementioned studies confirmed a causal association between reduced activity and poor development.
Conclusions: Since these studies indicated that nutritional status is linked to educational success or failure and other studies have demonstrated a link between education and individual or national development, Jamaica should promote nutritional interventions to increase equity and improve life chances, thereby benefiting national development.