How malnutrition affects children’s education

Malnutrition is nearly inseparable from extreme hunger and poverty and the cruel long-term effects of malnutrition are one of the ongoing societal challenges facing the world’s pooest communities.

The impact of malnutrition on children is heartbreaking, leading many to dub those affected by it as a ‘lost generation’ in communities where hunger or poor nutrition is prevalent.

In this article, we explore the consequences of malnutrition on school children and what can be done to fix this issue.

• Globally around 45 million children under the age of five experience acute malnutrition with up to two million of these children dying as a result annually
• In 2022, 149 million children under five were estimated to be stunted (too short for their age), 45 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for height) due to malnutrition
• Nearly half of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition 
• Nearly  a third of reproductive-age women are anemic because of undernutrition 
• And each year, around 20 million babies are born underweight 

Childhood nutrition is one of the most important factors determining the functional development of the brain and central nervous system. With that in mind, malnutrition of all kinds creates a heavy obstacle in the development of children, especially when it goes hand in hand with stunting.  

First, let’s clarify what we mean by malnutrition. Malnutrition is an umbrella term that includes undernutrition (an overall lack of calories or food), micronutrient-related malnutrition (lack of access to nutritional foods) and overnutrition (an excess consumption of calories that can lead to obesity). 

Stunting is defined as the impaired growth and development of children stemming from poor nutrition, repeat infection or poor psychosocial stimulation and has severe consequences, especially within the 1000 days between conception to the age of two. 

The actual mechanism of how stunting works is incredibly bleak. Malnutrition that leads to stunting causes tissue damage within the brain, alters neural cell numbers and lays waste to the foundation of a child’s neural circuits, limiting the overall growth of the brain.  

The end result is that the brain’s ability to cognitively process things, as well as its motor and language development skills will be damaged. And tragically, although some parts of the brain can eventually recover, the damage to the brain’s hippocampus, cerebellum and neural receptors appears to be permanent. As a result, children who face stunting often lose out on the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Around the world, malnutrition lingers as a spectre in many classrooms, with the potential to lead to long-term damage to a child’s life outcomes. Children not in schools face an increased risk of exploitation, including abuse, child labour and human trafficking, as well as a lower employment and education opportunities in the future.  

According to one study, being underweight reduces the academic performance of children by 68%. Children experiencing malnutrition within the classroom deal with impairments to their ability to focus, recall and retain information, as well as experience delays in language development and problem-solving. 

Behavioural challenges are also heavily associated with malnutrition, including irritability, anxiety, aggression, impulsivity and conduct disorder – which can make it difficult for children to engage with lessons or be understood by teachers and peers. Additionally, being hungry or suffering from poor nutrition reduces academic potential and often leads to poorer school attendance, as children naturally begin to prioritise searching for food or earning money to purchase food over attending school.

Malnutrition steamrolls over the cognitive aspects of development, but there are also significant physical effects that can derail a child’s learning experience. For starters, key motor milestones, such as crawling, walking and sitting without support are delayed by malnutrition. This can postpone a child’s entry into education or stop them from receiving one altogether. 

Growing up with a lack of essential nutrients can lead to an overall weaker immune system that makes the body less able to defend itself from illness. Malnutrition has been described as a ‘threat-multiplier’ that makes it harder for people to be resilient towards the spread of disease in pandemics – something that was particularly worrying during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Plus, children who have been affected by malnutrition are on average shorter and thinner for their age, with many having an increased risk of disability too. For example, annually between a quarter to half a million children become blind due to vitamin deficiencies. In India, 54% of school children were under-nourished and across Africa, the prevalence of iodine deficiency among school children was 39.3% -- all of which contributes to disabilities and health issues. 

The physical challenges within those conditions are obvious, but these also bring with them a significant social stigma as well, that excludes people with disabilities from public spaces, work and education.

Education is a crucial tool in ending poverty.  According to a UNESCO report, if all students in low-income countries were given basic reading skills, an estimated 171 million people could escape the cycle of poverty and overall world poverty would be halved if all adults completed secondary school.  

Although it is not the only problem facing schools, as we’ve outlined above, the impact of malnutrition on education is severe. So, to fight back against childhood malnutrition and guarantee a future to child living in one of the poorest communities in the world, Concern Worldwide has led on the development of an innovative programme aimed at tackling malnutrition in children aged under five. 

The Enhanced Responses to Nutrition Emergencies programme, or ERNE, combines lifesaving emergency nutrition treatment, prevention and preparedness activities to build community resilience towards malnutrition in vulnerable countries. By upskilling medical staff, upgrading medical facilities and providing emergency food treatment, this initiative has reached 1.2 million people in Ethiopia, Niger, Republic of Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since it began in June 2020. 

Our goal of ending extreme poverty means that we must look at its root causes, whether they stem from issues with education or poor public health and nutritional deficiencies. Take a closer look at Concern’s education programmes and health and nutrition programmes here.