Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
9.0
5.9
Journals
Nutrients
Special Issues
Dietary Influences on Health, Cognition, and Psychosocial Development of Preschoolers
nutrients-logo
Submit to Nutrients Review for Nutrients Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Dietary Influences on Health, Cognition, and Psychosocial Development of Preschoolers

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Epidemiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2023) | Viewed by 3816

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. John Worobey

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers—The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
Interests: infant feeding; temperament; maternal feeding style; infant obesity; nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Protein–energy malnutrition and other micronutrient deficiencies have long been studied for their impact on reducing physical growth and compromising health. With children especially, deficiencies in micronutrients have been shown to have adverse effects on the developing brain. Hence, in recent years, elements of undernutrition have also been examined as to their effects on behavior in general, cognitive development, and even aspects of psychosocial functioning. This Special Issue of Nutrients will examine the effects of undernutrition as well as the efficacy of nutritional interventions in improving developmental outcomes in human infants and young children. Apart from influences on health status, aspects of child development that can be addressed may include emotional expression, social behavior, and cognitive variables such as attention, sensorimotor behavior, expressive language, psychometric intelligence, and achievement motivation. 

Prof. Dr. John Worobey
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • attention
  • cognition
  • intelligence
  • language
  • sensorimotor behavior
  • health
  • socioemotional

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 639 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Multiple Micronutrient Fortified Beverage and Responsive Caregiving Interventions on Early Childhood Development, Hemoglobin, and Ferritin among Infants in Rural Guatemala
by Alysse J. Kowalski, Victor Alfonso Mayen, Silvia de Ponce, Kaley B. Lambden, Nick Tilton, Lisa M. Villanueva, Ana M. Palacios, Gregory A. Reinhart, Kristen M. Hurley and Maureen M. Black
Nutrients 2023, 15(9), 2062; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092062 - 25 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1718
Abstract
Undernutrition and a lack of learning opportunities can jeopardize long-term growth and development among infants in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a 6-month 2 × 2 cluster-randomized trial to assess the effects of multiple micronutrient-fortified beverages and responsive caregiving interventions among infants [...] Read more.
Undernutrition and a lack of learning opportunities can jeopardize long-term growth and development among infants in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a 6-month 2 × 2 cluster-randomized trial to assess the effects of multiple micronutrient-fortified beverages and responsive caregiving interventions among infants 6–18 months in 72 community sectors in southwest Guatemala. We administered baseline and endline assessments of childhood development (Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development) and socioemotional development (Brief Infant Toddler Socio-Emotional Assessment) and measured ferritin and hemoglobin on a subsample. The trial was analyzed using linear mixed models. At the baseline, the mean age (SD) was 13.0 (4.6) months, including 49% males, 32% who were stunted, 55% who were anemic, and 58% who were iron deficient. At the endline (n = 328/386, 85% retention), there was no synergistic effect on the fortified beverage and responsive caregiving intervention. Compared to the non-fortified beverage group, socioemotional development improved in the fortified beverage group. There were no intervention effects on other measures of child development, hemoglobin, or ferritin. In a setting with high rates of anemia and iron deficiency, a multiple micronutrient-fortified beverage improved infants’ socioemotional development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Influences on Health, Cognition, and Psychosocial Development of Preschoolers)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 773 KiB  
Article
School Feeding to Improve Cognitive Performance in Disadvantaged Children: A 3-Arm Parallel Controlled Trial in Northwest Pakistan
by Nicola M. Lowe, Pamela Qualter, Jonathan K. Sinclair, Swarnim Gupta and Mukhtiar Zaman
Nutrients 2023, 15(7), 1768; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15071768 - 04 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1707
Abstract
Malnutrition is associated with reduced learning aptitude and growth during childhood. We examined the impact of providing two school lunch variants, a standard school meal (school feeding, n = 70), or the standard meal with additional micronutrients (school feeding + micronutrient powder (MNP), [...] Read more.
Malnutrition is associated with reduced learning aptitude and growth during childhood. We examined the impact of providing two school lunch variants, a standard school meal (school feeding, n = 70), or the standard meal with additional micronutrients (school feeding + micronutrient powder (MNP), n = 70), in children attending two schools in northwest Pakistan. A third local government school, where no lunch was provided (no school feeding, n = 70), served as the control. The primary outcome, cognitive function, was assessed using the Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) test, alongside haemoglobin, at three-time points: T1 (baseline, before the initiation of the school lunch programme), T2 and T3 (5 and 12 months, respectively, after the introduction of the school lunch). Data were analysed using linear mixed-effects models to contrast between trial groups, the changes from T1 to T2 and T3. Adjusted for T1 and other co-variates, improvements in the RCPM scores were significantly greater in the school feeding group at T2 (b = 1.61, (95% CI = 0.71–2.52), t = 3.52, p = 0.001) and T3 (b = 1.28, (95% CI = 0.22–2.35), t = 2.38, p = 0.019) compared with no school feeding. In addition, at T2 (b = 1.63, (95% CI = −0.10–3.37), t = 1.86, p = 0.065), there were no significant differences between school feeding + MNP and no school feeding groups. However, improvements in the RCPM scores were significantly greater in the school feeding + MNP group at T3 (b = 2.35, (95% CI = 0.51–4.20), t = 2.53, p = 0.013) compared with no school feeding. The findings indicate an improvement in cognitive performance in children who received a school meal with and without MNP, over a 12-month period. Currently there is no operational school feeding programme at the national or provincial level in Pakistan. Our findings, therefore, highlight the need for school feeding programmes to improve learning opportunities for children from underprivileged communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Influences on Health, Cognition, and Psychosocial Development of Preschoolers)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop