Simple advice on nutrition can dramatically reduce the problem of stunted growth among infants in poor countries, according to a study published by The Lancet on Monday.

Doctors at the Instituto de Investigacion Nutricional in the Peruvian capital of Lima enrolled 380 mothers in a course in nutrition at government health centres in shantytowns around the northern city of Trujillo.

Half of the women were given easily understood, practical information about feeding small infants. The other women were in a “control” group in which there was no intervention, in order to act as a benchmark.

In the intervention group, the main message given to the mothers was that, in addition to breast feeding, the child should get a thick puree of vegetables or cereals at each meal to satisfy his hunger.

The mother should add a “special food” to his serving such as an egg, piece of fish or chicken liver to add protein and essential minerals.

The children in both groups were followed up at eight points during the first 18 months of their lives.

Stunted growth in the intervention group was two-thirds lower than in the control group, providing emphatic proof of the benefit of practical, grass-roots advice, say the authors.

The study is published online by The Lancet, the British medical weekly.

Undernutrition is estimated to cause half of all preventable deaths in infants worldwide and malnutrition causes stunted growth and anaemia.

But, the paper points out, the problem may often lie in parental ignorance rather than a mere lack of food.

“Caregivers might not make the best use of available resources because of cultural beliefs and practices, lack of knowledge of the best foods for young children even when available in the home, and inappropriate advice,” it notes. - Sapa-AFP