Nutrition in Early Life and the Fulfillment of Intellectual Potential

Abstract

The effects of early supplementary feeding on cognition are investigated using data collected during two periods in four Guatemalan villages. The first was the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) longitudinal study from 1969 to 1977 and the second was a cross-sectional follow-up of former participants carried out in 1988-1989. The principal objective of these studies was to assess the differential effect of two dietary supplements, Atole containing 163 kcal/682 kJ and 11.5 g protein per cup or 180 mL and Fresco containing 59 kcal/247 kJ and 0 g protein per cup, that were given to mothers, infants and young children. Performance was assessed on a battery of psychoeducational and information processing tests that were administered during adolescence. Consistent differences between groups were observed on psychoeducational tests. Subjects receiving Atole scored significantly higher on tests of knowledge, numeracy, reading and vocabulary than those given Fresco. Atole ingestion also was associated with faster reaction time in information processing tasks. In addition, there were significant interactions between type of dietary supplement and socioeconomic status (SES) of subjects. In Atole villages, there were no differences in performance between subjects in the lowest and highest SES categories. On the other hand, performance in Fresco villages was best in the highest compared with the lowest SES group. After close scrutiny of alternative hypotheses, it is concluded that dietary changes produced by supplementation provide the strongest explanation for the test performance differences observed in the follow-up between subjects exposed to Atole and those exposed to Fresco supplementation.