Micronutrients & recovery
Early-life chronic malnutrition (stunting) predisposes individuals to obesity in adolescence and adulthood, even within low-income populations with limited food supply.
In low-resource settings, preventing stunting in early childhood is critical to preventing obesity later in life. Simply providing enough calories for weight gain without addressing height/stunting may not prevent the shift to obesity; early nutritional quality and infection control are key to preventing the 'fat but stunted' phenotype.
This finding is consistent with reports from other malnourished communities... The implication of this finding is that recovery from long-term malnutrition may be associated with a persistent increase in body fat, predisposing to obesity.
Why this rating
Observational cross-sectional and cohort data; strong association but not randomized intervention.
Source
Obesity and Malnutrition in a Shantytown Population in the City of São Paulo, Brazil
Ana Lydia Sawaya et al. · Obesity Research · 1995
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