Local environment also a cause for child stunting, say scientists

Childhood stunting is traditionally regarded as a textbook problem of poverty. New research suggests, however, that it is actually the result of complex variation of factors based on not only nutrition but also environment and genetics.

In a year-long and ongoing study, scientists from the Centre for Human Genetics (CHG) in the city and the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition at Cornell University, used health survey data to establish a link between stunting and the type of localised environment a child lives in.

An environmental connection to stunting may come of little surprise as within the state of Karnataka the problem is commonly associated with the “dry” landscapes of the northern districts. Studies have found that nine such districts have a high prevalence of stunting (with the worst affected being Koppal and Yadgir).

Indeed, the CHG-Cornell study was approved last year by the state government which sought to find answers to better tackle stunting across a range of environments.

The CHG-Cornell scientists said their definition of “environment” is more nuanced. According to Dr Srilakshmi M Raj, currently an Assistant Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and lead author of the study, their findings indicate that while the overall reasons for stunting are similar, the reasons start to vary when one looks at all the environmental variables.

“Ultimately, when we talk about a “bad” environment, we mean conditions which lead to poor nutrition, poor sanitation, poor access to good drinking water, poor access to health facilities - all of which affect the health of the mother and lead to stunting in children,” explained Professor Prabhu Pingali, director of the Tata Cornell Institute, and senior author of the study.

There is already concern that such bad environments could be triggering an intergenerational stunting problem, according to Dr Meenakshi Bhat, Senior Faculty, CHG and co-author.

“This is because there have been cases of stunting even among children with adequate nutrition in some districts,” she said.

The researchers said that their results suggest that subtle variations should not be ignored when considering factors impacting child health outcomes.

“The findings also show that a one-size-fits-all solution cannot be used to solve the problem,” Dr Srilakshmi said. “The government would require different interventions to address stunting in different areas.”

Check out latest DH videos here