1. The Rise and Fall of Protein Malnutrition in Global Health
Richard D. Semba. The Rise and Fall of Protein Malnutrition in Global Health (2016).
Background
From the 1950s to the mid-1970s, United Nations (UN) agencies were focused on protein malnutrition as the major worldwide nutritional problem. The goal of this review is to examine this era of protein malnutrition, the reasons for its demise, and the aftermath.
Abstract Summary
"The UN Protein Advisory Group was established in 1955. International conferences were largely concerned about protein malnutrition in children. By the early 1970s, UN agencies were ringing the alarm about a ‘protein gap'. In The Lancet in 1974, Donald McLaren branded these efforts as ‘The Great Protein Fiasco', declaring that the ‘protein gap' was a fallacy. The following year, John Waterlow, the scientist who led most of the efforts on protein malnutrition, admitted that a ‘protein gap' did not exist and that young children in developing countries only needed sufficient energy intake. The emphasis on protein malnutrition waned. It is recently apparent that quality protein and essential amino acids are missing in the diet and may have adverse consequences for child growth and the reduction of child stunting.”
2. Effect of complementary feeding with lipid-based nutrient supplements and corn-soy blends of stunting and linear growth among 6 - 18 month old infants and children in rural Malawi
C. Mangani. Effect of complementary feeding with lipid-based nutrient supplements and corn–soy blend on the incidence of stunting and linear growth among 6- to 18-month-old infants and children in rural Malawi (2016).
Results
“During the one-year intervention period, children who received milk–LNS had the most length gain both in terms of cm and z-scores whereas children who received CSB had the least. A total of 86 infants developed severe stunting during the intervention. The number of those who developed very severe stunting, moderate-to-severe stunting, severe underweight, and severe wasting were 50, 177, 36, and 11, respectively. Children in the milk–LNS group had fewer of these events whereas those in the CSB group had more (except very severe stunting), but none of the differences between the groups was statistically significant.. At the end of the 12-month intervention, the prevalence of severe stunting and other forms of undernutrition was slightly lower in the milk–LNS group than the other groups but again the differences were not statistically significant.”