Peer-reviewed article
The interlink between chrono-nutrition and stunting: current insights and future perspectives
Nurpudji Astuti Taslim, Salsabila Farradisya, William Ben Gunawan, Aulia Alfatihah, Ria Irmelin Br Barus et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This review examines how timing of nutrition (chrono-nutrition) relates to stunting in children. Stunting causes irreversible damage to children's physical and mental development, affecting brain growth, school performance, and increasing lifelong risks of chronic diseases. Optimal nutrition during pregnancy and the first 24 months, combined with awareness of circadian rhythms and breastfeeding support, can help prevent stunting.
Key points
- Stunting causes brain underdevelopment with lifelong consequences including weakened mental capacity and poor school performance
- Chronic undernutrition during early critical periods of growth leads to stunting and lasting health damage
- Circadian rhythms significantly affect maternal and fetal health, including risk of premature birth and stunting
- Optimal nutrition during pregnancy and first 24 months is crucial for stunting prevention
- Supporting breastfeeding through public spaces and maintaining balanced diet aligned with biological clocks can benefit infant health
Limitations
This is a literature review that summarizes existing studies rather than presenting new research data or findings. The document does not provide specific quantitative evidence, intervention outcomes, or implementation details that would allow evaluation of what interventions actually work to reduce stunting.
Abstract
Stunting is the one factor that is responsible for the irretrievable damage to children's mental and physical health. Stunting imitates chronic undernutrition throughout the most extreme critical stages of growth and development of a child in their early life, and due to that stunted child does not completely develop and are too short for their age. Stunting is mainly linked with brain underdevelopment, along with lifelong damaging consequences, comprising weakened mental and learning capacity, deprived performance in school during childhood, and enhanced risks of nutrition linked to chronic long-lasting ailments, such as diabetes, hypertension, diabesity, and obesity in the future. In this review, the authors mainly summarize the latest studies related to chronic nutrition and how it is related to stunting. Optimal nutrition, particularly during pregnancy and the first 24 months of a child's life, is crucial in preventing stunting. Circadian rhythms play a significant role in maternal and fetal health, affecting outcomes such as premature birth and stunting. Maintaining a balanced diet, avoiding late-night carbohydrate-heavy meals during pregnancy, and promoting breastfeeding align with the body's biological clock, which can benefit newborns in various ways. Providing dedicated spaces for breastfeeding in public places is important to support infant health.