Building Convergence in Science, Programs, and Policy Actions on Child Undernutrition: Symposium Rationale and Overview1,2
- 3Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, India; and
- 4Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- ↵*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: p.menon{at}cgiar.org
Abstract
Childhood stunting and wasting are often portrayed as relatively distinct manifestations of undernutrition. Little is known about how children progress from one manifestation of undernutrition to another as they grow older, nor how intervention strategies need to consider the potential overlap of these manifestations of undernutrition. While much is known about the causes of growth faltering in general, much less is known about which pre-disposing contextual and biological factors cause children to become stunted as opposed to wasted or both. Increasingly, nutrition researchers have tended to focus on one form of malnutrition or the other, lacking an integrated framework for understanding both phenomena. Similarly, some practitioner communities focus on prevention of stunting while others focus on recuperative treatment of wasting. The fragmentation of interests and perspectives on childhood undernutrition has negative consequences for advocacy efforts that aim to bring attention and resources to child nutrition across the globe. It also has serious implications for how children worldwide receive nutrition interventions and services. The symposium aimed to bring together a set of speakers from academic, practice and policy communities to discuss and debate these issues.
Footnotes
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↵1 Published as a supplement to Advances in Nutrition. Presented at a symposium titled “Building Convergence among Scientific, Programmatic, and Policy Communities: Working on Childhood Undernutrition in Developing Countries” given at the annual Experimental Biology meeting, Monday, April 11, 2011, in Washington, DC. The symposium was partly supported by the American Society for Nutrition. The symposium was chaired by Purnima Menon and Rebecca Stoltzfus. Guest Editors for this symposium publication were Rebecca J. Stolzfus and Edward A. Frongillo. Guest Editor disclosures: Rebecca J. Stolzfus had no conflicts to disclose. Edward A. Frongillo had no conflicts to disclose.
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↵2 Author disclosures: P. Menon and R. J. Stoltzfus, no conflicts of interest.
- © 2012 American Society for Nutrition
