Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Behavioral Consequences of Protein-Energy Deprivation and Supplementation in Early Life: An Epidemiological Perspective

  • Chapter
Nutrition and Behavior

Abstract

This review focuses on the security of inference that can be drawn from the existing literature on the relationship of protein-energy nutrition during pregnancy and early childhood and subsequent mental function and behavior. [It follows a recent review of the effect of gestational nutrition on fetal growth and survival (Rush, 1982a).] Since only the most limited conclusions can be drawn from most currently available observational studies, because they are unable to dissociate malnutrition from the constellation of other forms of deprivation that almost invariably accompany nutritional insult, the review is limited to those few studies from which strong inference can be drawn. Also, noninterventional studies offer little help in guiding us to the most efficient and humane ways to ameliorate the suffering of all too many of the world’s children.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Barrett, D. E., Radke-Yarrow, M., and Klein, R. E., 1982, Chronic malnutrition and child behavior: Effects of early calorie supplementation on social-emotional functioning at school age, Dev. Psychol. 18:541–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berglund, G., and Rabo, E., 1973, A long-term follow-up investigation of patients with hypertrophic pyloric stenosis—with special reference to the physical and mental development. Acta Paediatr. Scand. 62:125–129.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Birch, H. G., 1972, Summary of Session V: Future research directions, in: Nutrition, The Nervous System, and Behavior, Proceedings of the Seminar on Malnutrition in Early Life and Subsequent Mental Development, Mono, Jamaica, January 10–14, 1972, pp. 133–135, Pan American Health Organization Scientific Publication No. 251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brazelton, T. B., Tronick, E., Lechtig, A., Lasky, R. E., and Klein, R. E., 1977, The behavior of nutritionally deprived Guatemalan infants, Dev. Med. Child Neurol. 19:364–372.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brozek, J., Coursin, D. B., and Read, M. S., 1977, Longitudinal studies on the effects of malnutrition, nutritional supplementation, and behavioral stimulation. Bull. Pan Am. Health Org. 11:237–249.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chavez, A., and Martinez, C., 1975, Nutrition and development of children from poor rural areas. V. Nutrition and behavior development, Nutr. Rep. Int. 11:477–489.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chavez, A., and Martinez, C., 1979a, Behavioral effects of undernutrition and food supplementation, in: Behavioral Effects of Energy and Protein Deficits (J. Brozek, ed.), pp. 216–228, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, NIH Publication No. 79–1906.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chavez, A., and Martinez, C., 1979b, Consequences of insufficient nutrition on child character and behavior, in:Malnutrition, Environment, and Behavior: New Perspectives (D. A. Levitsky, ed.), pp. 238–255, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chavez, A., Martinez, C., and Yaschine, T., 1974, The importance of nutrition and stimuli on child mental and social development, in: Early Malnutrition and Mental Development: Symposia of the Swedish Nutrition Foundation XII (J. Cravioto, L. Hambraeus, and B. Vahlquist, eds.), pp. 211–225, Almquist and Wiksell, Uppsala, Sweden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chavez, A., Martinez, C., and Yaschine, T., 1975, Nutrition, behavioral development, and mother- child interaction in young rural children. Fed. Proc. Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol. 34:1574–1582.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cravioto, J., and Arrieta, R., 1979, Stimulation and mental development of malnourished infants. Lancet 2:899.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cravioto, J., and DeLicardie, E. R., 1975, Mother-infant relationship prior to the development of clinically severe malnutrition in the child, in: Western Hemisphere Nutrition Congress IV (P. L. White and N. Selvey, eds.), pp. 126–137, Publishing Sciences Group, Acton, Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, J. W. B., 1956, Mental ability and school achievement of premature children at 8 years of age. Br. Med. J. 1:1210–1214.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, J. W. B., 1960, "Premature" children at primary schools,Br. Med. J. 1:1008–1012.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DrilHen, C. M., 1969, School disposal and performance for children of different birthweight born 1953–1960, Arch. Dis. Child. 44:562–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, C. E., and Hill, D. E., 1975, Growth, intelligence, and school performance in children with cystic fibrosis who have had an episode of malnutrition during infancy, J. Pediatr. 87:565–568.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Engle, P. L., Irwin, M., Klein, R. E., Yarbrough, C., and Townsend, J. W., 1979, Nutrition and mental development in children, in: Human Nutrition: A Comprehensive Treatise, Vol. 1, Nutrition: Pre- and Postnatal Development (M. Winick, ed.), pp. 291–306, Plenum Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, H. E., Klein, R. E., Kagan, J., and Yarbrough, C., 1977, Relations between nutrition and cognition in rural Guatemala, Am. J. Public Health 67:233–239.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, H. E., Klein, R. E., Townsend, J. W., and Lechtig, A., 1980, Nutrition and cognitive development among rural Guatemalan children. Am. J. Public Health 70:1277–1285.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, H. I., Liebman, O. B., and Freudenthal, R., 1971, Effects of early dietary protein intake on low-birth-weight infants: Evaluation at 3 years of age, J. Pediatr. 78:126.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, H. I., Goldman, J. S., Kaufman, I., and Liebman, O. B., 1974, Late effects of early dietary protein intake on low-birth-weight infants,J. Pediatr. 85:764–769.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grantham-McGregor, S., Stewart, M., Powell, C., and Schofield, W. N., 1979, Effect of stimulation on mental development of malnourished child. Lancet 2:200–201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grantham-McGregor, S., Stewart, M. E., and Schofield, W. N., 1980, Effect of long-term psychological stimulation on mental development of severely malnourished children, Lancet 2:785–789.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grantham-McGregor, S., Schofield, W. N., and Harris, L., 1983, Effect of psychosocial stimulation on mental development of severely malnourished children: An interim report. Pediatrics 72:239–243.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Graves, P. L., 1976, Nutrition, infant behavior, and maternal characteristics: A pilot study in West Bengal, India, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 29:305–319.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hicks, L. E., Langham, R. A., and Takenaka, J., 1982, Cognitive and health measures following early nutritional supplementation: A sibling study. Am. J. Public Health 72:1110–1118.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Irwin, M., Klein, R. E., Townsend, J. W., Owens, W., Engle, P. L., Lechtig, A., Martorell, R., Yarbrough, C., Lasky, R. E., and Delgado, H. L., 1979, The effects of food supplementation on cognitive development and behavior among rural Guatemalan children, in: Behavioral Effects of Energy and Protein Deficits (J. Brozek, ed.), pp. 239–254, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, NIH Publication No. 79–1906.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, P. S., Forbes, G. B., and Nader, P. R., 1975, Effects of starvation in infancy (pyloric stenosis) on subsequent learning abilities,J. Pediatr. 87:8–15.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, R. E., 1979, Malnutrition and human behavior: A backward glance at an ongoing longitudinal study, in: Malnutrition, Environment, and Behavior: New Perspectives (D. A. Levitsky, ed.), pp. 219–237, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, R. E., Freeman, H. E., Kagan, J., Yarbrough, C., and Habicht, J. P., 1972, Is big smart? The relation of growth to cognition, J. Health Soc. Behav. 13:219–225.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, R. E., Yarbrough, C., Lasky, R. E., and Habicht, J. P., 1974, Correlations of mild to moderate protein-calorie malnutrition among rural Guatemalan infants and preschool children, in:Early Malnutrition and Mental Development: Symposia of the Swedish Nutrition Foundation XH (J. Cravioto, L. Hambraeus, and B. Vahlquist, eds.), pp. 168–181, Almquist and Wiksell, Uppsala, Sweden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, R. E., Lester, B. M., Yarbrough, C., and Habicht, J. P., 1975, On malnutrition and mental development: Some preliminary findings, in: Proceedings of the 9th International Congress of Nutrition, Mexico, Vol. 2, pp. 315–321, S. Karger, Basel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, R. E., Arenales, P., Delgado, H., Engle, P. L., Guzman, G., Irwin, M., Lasky, R., Lechtig, A., Martorell, R., Mejia Pivaral, V., Russell, P., and Yarbrough, C., 1976, Effects of maternal nutrition on fetal growth and infant development. Pan Am. Health Org. Bull. 10:301–316.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lechtig, A., Delgado, H., Lasky, R., Yarbrough, C., Martorell, R., Habicht, J. P., and Klein, R. E., 1975, Effect of improved nutrition during pregnancy and lactation on developmental retardation and infant mortality, in: Western Hemisphere Nutrition Congress IV ( L. White and N. Selvey, eds.), pp. 117–125, Publishing Sciences Group, Acton, Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levine, S., and Weiner, S., 1976, A critical analysis of data on malnutrition and behavioral deficits. Adv. Pediatr. 22:113–136.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd-Still, J. D., Hurwitz, I., Wolff, P. H., and Scwachman, H., 1974, Intellectual development after severe malnutrition in infancy. Pediatrics 54:306–311.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McKay, H., and McKay, A., 1981, The long-term effects of preschool nutritional health and educational attention. Prepared for the XVIII Interamerican Congress of Psychology, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, June 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKay, H., McKay, A., and Sinisterra, L., 1973, Behavioral intervention studies with malnourished children: A review of experiences, in: Nutrition, Development and Social Behavior: Proceedings of the Conference on the Assessment of Tests of Behavior from Studies of Nutrition in the Western Hemisphere (D. J. Kallen, ed.), pp. 121–154, DREW Publication No. (NIH) 73–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKay, H., McKay, A., and Sinisterra, L., 1974, Intellectual development of malnourished preschool children in programs of stimulation and nutritional supplementation, in: Early Malnutrition and Mental Development: Symposia of the Swedish Nutrition Foundation XII (J. Cravioto, L. Hambraeus, and B. Vahlquist, eds.), pp. 226–233, Almquist and Wiksell, Uppsala, Sweden.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKay, H., Sinisterra, L., McKay, A., Gomez, H., and Lloreda, P., 1978, Improving cognitive ability of chronically deprived children.Science 200:270–278.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McKeown, T., 1970, Prenatal and early postnatal influences on measured intelligence, Br. Med. J. 3:63–67.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, D. S., Yaktin, U. S., Kanawati, A. A., Sabbagh, S., and Kadi, Z., 1973, The subsequent mental and physical development of rehabilitated marasmic infants, J. Ment. Defic. Res. 17:273–281.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, B. D., 1981,The Endangered Sex, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osofsky, H. J., 1975, Relationships between prenatal medical and nutritional measures, pregnancy outcome, and early infant development in an urban poverty setting. I. The role of nutritional intake. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 123:682–690.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pencharz, P., Heller, A., Higgins, A., Strawbridge, J., Rush, D., and Pless, I. B., 1983, Effects of nutritional services to pregnant mothers on the school performance of treated and untreated children, Nutr. Res. 3(6):795–804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollitt, E., and Thomson, C., 1977, Protein-calorie malnutrition and behavior: A view from psychology, in: Nutrition and the Brain, Vol. 2 (R. J. Wurtman and J. J. Wurtman, eds.), pp. 261–306, Raven Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Record, R. G., McKeown, T., and Edwards, J. H., 1969, The relation of measured intelligence to birth weight and duration of gestation,Ann. Hum. Genet. 33:71–79.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rush, D., 1981, Nutritional services during pregnancy and birthweight: A retrospective matched pair analysis. Can. Med. Assoc. J. 125:567–576.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rush, D., 1982a, Effects of changes in protein and calorie intake during pregnancy on the growth of the human fetus, in: Effectiveness and Satisfaction in Antenatal Care: Clinics in Developmental Medicine Series (M. Enkin and I. Chalmers, Eds.), pp. 92–113, Spastics International Medical Publications, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rush, D., 1982b, Is WIC worthwhile? Editorial, Am. J. Public Health 72:1101–1103.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rush, D., Stein, Z., and Süsser, M., 1980a, Diet in Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Nutritional Supplements, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, Vol. XVI, No. 3, Alan R. Liss, New York, 200 + xvii pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rush, D., Stein, Z., and Süsser, M., 1980b, A randomized controlled trial of prenatal nutritional supplementation in New York City, Pediatrics 65:683–697.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sinisterra, L., McKay, H., Gomez, H., and Korgi, J., 1979, Response of malnourished preschool children to multidisciplinary intervention, in: Behavioral Effects of Energy and Protein Deficits (J. Brozek, ed.), pp. 229–238, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, NIH Publication No. 79–1906.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, Z., Süsser, M., Saenger, G., and Marolla, F., 1975, Famine and Human Development: The Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944–1945, Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valman, H. B., 1974, Intelligence after malnutrition caused by neonatal resection of ileum, Lancet 1:425–427.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vuori, L., Christiansen, N., Clement, J., Mora, J. O., Wagner, M., and Herrera, M. G., 1979, Nutritional supplementation and the outcome of pregnancy. II. Visual habituation at 15 days, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 32:463–469.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waber, D. P., Vuori-Christiansen, L., Ortiz, N., Clement, J. R., Christiansen, N. E., Mora, J. O., Reed, R. B., and Herrera, M. G., 1981, Nutritional supplementation, maternal education, and cognitive development of infants at risk of malnutrition, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 34:807–813.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yaktin, U.S., and McLaren, D. S., 1970, The behavioural development of infants recovering from severe malnutrition, J. Ment. Defic. Res. 14:25–32.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yaktin, U. S., McLaren, D. S., Kanawati, A. A., and Sabbagh, S., 1971, Effect of undernutrition in early life on subsequent behavioural development, in: Proc. XIII Internat. Congr. Pediat. Vienna, Vienna Med. Acad., II, 15:71.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rose F. Kennedy Center, 10461, Bronx, New York, USA

    David Rush

  2. Division of Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, Departments of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 10461, Bronx, New York, USA

    David Rush

  3. Division of Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 10461, Bronx, New York, USA

    David Rush

Authors
  1. David Rush
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Janina R. Galler

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1984 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Rush, D. (1984). The Behavioral Consequences of Protein-Energy Deprivation and Supplementation in Early Life: An Epidemiological Perspective. In: Galler, J.R. (eds) Nutrition and Behavior. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7219-0_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7219-0_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-7221-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-7219-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation