Preventing Micronutrient Deficiencies Using African Indigenous Vegetables in Kenya and Zambia

Abstract

The first 1,000 days The time from conception through age 2 years, “the first 1,000 days,” is vitally important to the health of a child and for optimal lifelong health.1 However, there are millions of women and children throughout the world without access to sufficient sources of energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins. The shortterm effects of poor nutrition in childhood are manifested as nutrient-specific conditions including night blindness, anemia, poor growth and development, and severe wasting. An important long-term outcome of poor nutrition is growth retardation (i.e., stunting) and it is estimated that the global prevalence of stunting decreased from 40% to 27% of children under the age of 5 years between 1990 and 2010 and is expected to reach 22% by 2020.2 However, while in 2015 there were 98.5 million fewer stunted children than in 1990, this decrease is partly reflected by gains in some regions, but not others, as the number of stunted children in sub-Saharan Africa has increased by 12.4 million since 1995.3 At the same time, the prevalence of “hidden hunger,” a condition in which children and adults appear to be well nourDaniel J. Hoffman Department of Nutritional Sciences, New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health, Center for Childhood Nutrition Education and Research, Program in International Nutrition, New Brunswick, NJ, USA