How does nutrition affect the developing brain

For the purpose of this blog, we are mainly concentrating on children who can consume solid foods. UNICEF focuses on this throughout their work, emphasising how adequate nutrition is an essential aspect of infant brain development.

Cognitive brain progression is essentially how children develop problem-solving skills which help them to understand the world and their surrounding environment. It shapes how they think and how they approach ideas and the situations they encounter.

Nutrient-rich foods are integral for healthy and sustained brainpower and are fundamental to brain development and early cognitive development. A deficiency in iron is often associated with cognitive deficits in younger children. Foods which have the featured nutrients in, but are not exclusive to, include the following foods:. Children in food-insecure families are likely to have unhealthy diets and inconsistent eating habits, placing them at risk for cognitive impairment, obesity, and other long-term problems.

Effects of prenatal protein malnutrition on the hippocampal formation. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. Household food insecurity is a risk factor for iron-deficiency anaemia in a multi-ethnic, low-income sample of infants and toddlers.

Public Health Nutrition. Understanding the role of nutrition in the brain and behavioral development of toddlers and preschool children: identifying and addressing methodological barriers. Nutritional Neuroscience. Georgieff MK. Nutrition and the developing brain: nutrient priorities and measurement. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Rose-Jacobs R. Household food insecurity: associations with at-risk infant and toddler development.

Development and validity of a 2-item screen to identify families at risk for food insecurity. Family food insufficiency is related to overweight among preschoolers.

Social Science and Medicine. Food insecurity is not associated with childhood obesity as assessed using multiple measures of obesity. Journal of Nutrition.

The tempted brain eats: Pleasure and desire circuits in obesity and eating disorders. Brain Research. Early life programming of obesity and metabolic disease. Search Submit. Parenting Resource How does nutrition affect the developing brain? Read more about: Brain Development.

Back to top. Article Which plays a more important role in brain development, nature genes or nurture environment? Article Why does the developing brain undergo these critical periods in its development? Neuroscientists do not yet fully understand the biological basis of these critical periods.

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