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Evidence for the Association Between Early Childhood Stunting and Metabolic Syndrome

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Handbook of Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation

Abstract

Stunting or linear growth deficit is the most prevalent form of undernutrition globally and is internationally recognized as an important public-health indicator for monitoring health in populations. In 2015, 23.2%, or just under one in four children under the age of 5 worldwide had stunted growth and the number of children affected fell from 255 million to 156 million. Stunting has long-term effects on individuals and societies, including diminished cognitive and physical development, reduced productive capacity, poor health, and an increased risk of degenerative diseases such as diabetes. Metabolic syndrome is a multicomponent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus that reflects the clustering of individual cardiometabolic risk factors related to abdominal obesity and insulin resistance. Estimates have indicated that nearly one quarter of the world’s adult population suffers from metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between childhood stunting and metabolic syndrome components in adulthood. A systematic review was undertaken to address this question. Eight relevant articles were located. In the majority of the studies, the metabolic syndrome components were measured in adolescence or early adulthood. An outcome measured in later adulthood was observed in only one study, and earlier onset of metabolic risks was observed in men who had a timing of early peak height velocity. The results in this literature indicated that the consequences of stunting were complex and likely to depend on local environment, diet, and developmental timing. On concluding this review, the evidence for the association between early childhood stunting and metabolic syndrome was unclear.

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Abbreviations

AACE:

American Association of Clinical Endocrinology

AHA:

American Heart Association

ALSPAC:

Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

AO:

Abdominal obesity

CD:

Cardiovascular disease

CI:

Confidence interval

COHORTS:

Consortium for Health Orientated Research in Transitional Societies

EGIR:

European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance

HBP:

High blood pressure

HDL-C:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

IDF:

International Diabetes Federation

IR:

Insulin resistance

MetS:

Metabolic syndrome

NCEP-ATPIII:

National Cholesterol Education Program – Third Adult Treatment Panel

NHLBI:

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

T2DM:

Type 2 diabetes mellitus

TG:

Triglycerides

UNICEF:

United Nations Children's Fund

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, Vale of Itajaí University, Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Luciane Peter Grillo

  2. Postgraduate Program in Epidemiology and Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Denise Petrucci Gigante

Authors
  1. Luciane Peter Grillo
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  2. Denise Petrucci Gigante
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luciane Peter Grillo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Research Division, Faculty of Life Science and Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK

    Victor R. Preedy

  2. School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood B. Patel

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Grillo, L.P., Gigante, D.P. (2019). Evidence for the Association Between Early Childhood Stunting and Metabolic Syndrome. In: Preedy, V., Patel, V. (eds) Handbook of Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55387-0_31

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55387-0_31

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55386-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55387-0

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