Early Life Nutrition and Lifelong Health - Derbyshire Local Medical ...

BMA Board of Sciencecomposition. There is increasing evidence that these influence the risk of developing obesity,diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health outcomes in later life. The optimal pattern(s) ofinfant growth to minimise the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes need(s) to bedetermined. There is strong evidence that undernutrition (stunting or wasting) during the first twoyears of life leads to impaired adult cognitive, physical and economic capacity, which cannot berepaired even if nutrition improves later in childhood.Dietary patterns run in families and the diet of infants tends to be similar to that of mothers. It islikely that interventions which improve the diets of young women will also lead to improved dietsfor their children. The Healthy Start scheme provides support for eligible women and childrenthrough provision of food vouchers and vitamin supplements, and needs to be promoted widely.Its impact on the nutrition of mothers and young children should be evaluated at a national level.Development of future interventions highlights the need for biomarkers of poor developmentalnutrition in infants and children.While there are gaps in the evidence about the long-term consequences of poor maternal andinfant nutrition, and we do not as yet understand the mechanisms fully, it is clear that steps needto be taken to promote healthy diets in young women and their families, to encouragebreastfeeding and the use of appropriate complementary foods.2Early life nutrition and lifelong health