Anyone who has watched a newborn develop into a toddler and then into a child knows how fast and amazing this happens when everything works right. Successful physical growth is intertwined with brain development and the related mental and emotional behaviors. This growth and normal function requires a steady supply of all essential nutrients in the child’s diet.

There is ample evidence that inadequate amounts of various essential nutrients in a child’s diet can prevent the development of normal intelligence. Now there also is research with over 1,500 young children in Mauritius showing that malnutrition can adversely affect the development of normal positive social behavior in growing children.

Question: What is meant by good social behavior?

Answer: For this research, doctors from the University of Pennsylvania defined good social behavior at 3 years of age as having four key components:

>> Active independent exploration

>> Verbalization with many spontaneous comments

>> Immediately friendly

>> Active social play and cooperation with other children

Other measurements included indicators of verbal and spatial intelligence as well as levels of parent education and social peacefulness or problems in the home.

Q: How was nutritional status measured?

A: Only a few clear deficiency signs were used as indicators of poor nutrition. These included angular stomatitis (cracks at the corners of the mouth) indicating a deficiency in vitamin B2 and/or niacin; sparse, thin hair and abnormal hair pigmentation (normally dark hair with a red hue) indicating protein malnutrition; and anemia indicating iron deficiency.

Q: What did the study show?

A: At 3 years of age, regardless of their home environment, malnourished children were more likely to be less socially adept. They had decreased ability and interest to explore new toys and were less likely to be talkative. The most significant differences were decreased friendliness and decreased active social play. There also was a trend showing that children with multiple indicators of malnutrition had more inappropriate social behaviors.

Q: What foods might help to prevent the four nutrient deficiencies?

A: Niacin and riboflavin can easily be obtained with a wide assortment of enriched cereals available today. These two vitamins are also in plant-based protein foods such as nuts and beans, as well as animal protein food. Protein deficiency normally occurs when the diet is based mainly on grains and lacks protein food like meat, fish, poultry, beans and nuts. Iron is best absorbed from animal protein food such as red meats and also can be obtained from fortified cereals and to some extent from a variety of plant food.

Q: What are the implications of this study?

A: In a world that is becoming more complex, social skills are clearly important for success on many levels. Other research indicates that mental and social abilities at a young age predict success throughout life. This study only evaluated easily observed signs of a few nutrient deficiencies. With over 40 essential nutrients required for normal growth and development, it is likely that several other nutrient deficiencies not evaluated in this study also contributed to impaired mental and emotional development.

Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., are nutritionists in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii- Manoa. Dobbs also works with University Health Services.