Malnutrition Causes Severe Stunting in Guatemalan Children

Here is another great article on child malnutrition in Guatemala.  It talks about cause, effect, and solution and it has a great video that pulls your heart strings.  I highly recommend it.

Here were some of the key points:

• 50% of the population Guatemala is stunted and up to 80% of rural villages are stunted due to malnutrition
• Stunting occurs due to lack of vital nutrients in the first 1000 days of a child's life.
• Effects of malnutrition are stunting, susceptibility to disease, and lower IQ.  Many children are forced to drop out of school and never acquire satisfactory jobs.
• An average diet is lacking in protein found in milk and meats.
• Mothers are encourage to breast feed and give supplementary food like Incaparina, which is often ineffective because it is mixed with too much water.
• Adequate diet and nutrition is essential before the age of 2.
• Organizations like Save the Children's Guatemala distribute goats for milk, teach nutrition, and show how to raise chickens and gardens.
• 9-year-old Mayans are six inches shorter than 9-year-old Mayans raised in United States.