First two years in a child's life key to adult development

The first two years in a child's life are crucial in determining its well-being in adulthood, according to a series of five papers launched in The Lancet on 17 January.

Afghan children under two years of age are vulnerable to malnutrition. (Image: Akmal Dawi/IRIN)

Maternal and child under-nutrition in the first two years is the underlying cause of 3,5 million deaths a year, 35 percent of disease in young children and a host of longer-term ills, states the report.

The series finds that poor foetal growth or stunting in the first two years of life leads to irreversible damage, including shorter adult height, lower attained schooling, reduced adult income, and decreased birth weight in offspring.

Moreover, children undernourished in the first two years, who put on weight rapidly later in childhood and in adolescence, are at high risk of chronic diseases related to nutrition, such as high glucose concentrations, hypertension and increased levels of harmful fats in their blood.

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