The Height of Success

A Success Story – As told by “Uncle” Norman.

“The height of your success is determined by the depth of your belief.” A quote attributed to the American author Hilary Hinton “Zig” Ziglar.

But what if your child’s height-for-age could be used as a determinant of their future success?

Well, in the case of STUNTED  children, child growth failure is often an indicator of risk of developmental delay. Stunted growth (also known as chronic malnutrition) refers to low height-for-age: when a child is short for his/her age but not necessarily thin.

Paediatric psychologist  Dr. Maureen Black (along with other researchers), affirms that nutritional deficiencies along with stress and other adversities during early life can create disparities that disrupt children’s growth and developmental trajectories, compromising their future health, educational attainment, psychosocial well-being, and economic productivity. That stunting before the age of two, has been associated with poor school performance, reduced economic income during adulthood, and both low birth weight and poor cognitive performance in the subsequent generation.

The long and short of it is that malnutrition, in all its forms: undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight, obesity, and resulting diet-related non-communicable diseases, can and should be prevented.

What will be your success story in combating malnutrition?