PMID- 33923756 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20210526 LR - 20210526 IS - 2072-6643 (Electronic) IS - 2072-6643 (Linking) VI - 13 IP - 4 DP - 2021 Apr 16 TI - Nutrition, Cognition, and Social Emotion among Preschoolers in Poor, Rural Areas of South Central China: Status and Correlates. LID - 10.3390/nu13041322 [doi] LID - 1322 AB - Existing empirical evidence suggests that the prevalence of undernutrition in remote and poor, rural areas is still high among Chinese children. While evidence reveals that undernutrition may detrimentally affect child development, studies focusing on rural Chinese preschoolers are sparse. Using the baseline survey of a preschool's free nutritious lunch pilot program, this study examined the relationship between child undernutrition and developmental outcomes among a preschool-aged sample in poor, rural areas of China. We conducted the baseline survey in Hunan province in south central China in September 2018. A total of 1293 preschoolers living in two (then) nationally designated poverty counties in rural Hunan served as our study sample. Children's nutritional statuses were measured using height-for-age z-score, weight-for-age z-score, and anemia, while their cognitive and socio-emotional skills were assessed using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), respectively. We find that 33% of sample preschoolers were anemic, whereas the incidences of stunting and wasting were 11% and 2%, respectively. About 54% of the sample children had delay in at least one of the developmental domains measured in this study. Our findings provide suggestive evidence supporting that children from certain backgrounds tend to experience worse nutritional and developmental outcomes than their counterparts. After controlling for socioeconomic status, we observed that both anemia and stunting were negatively associated with children's cognitive performance; however, they were not associated with socio-emotional performance. As such, this study suggests that free lunch programs have the potential to change children's developmental trajectory in preschool. We believe that our results will contribute to the debate surrounding whether the nutritious lunch program in China should be expanded to the preschool education level. FAU - Chen, Kevin AU - Chen K AD - China Academy for Rural Development, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou 310058, China. AD - International Food Policy Research Institute, East and Central Asia Office, 12 Zhongguancunnandajie, Beijing 100081, China. FAU - Liu, Chengfang AU - Liu C AD - China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Rd, Beijing 100871, China. FAU - Liu, Xinghua AU - Liu X AD - China Academy for Rural Development, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou 310058, China. FAU - Wang, Zimeiyi AU - Wang Z AD - International Food Policy Research Institute, East and Central Asia Office, 12 Zhongguancunnandajie, Beijing 100081, China. FAU - Luo, Renfu AU - Luo R AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-1318-4449 AD - China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Rd, Beijing 100871, China. FAU - Li, Shaoping AU - Li S AD - China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Rd, Beijing 100871, China. FAU - Yu, Yanying AU - Yu Y AD - China Academy for Rural Development, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou 310058, China. FAU - Alderman, Harold AU - Alderman H AD - International Food Policy Research Institute, 1201 Eye Street, Washington, DC 20005, USA. LA - eng GR - 71861147003/National Natural Science Foundation of China/ GR - 71925009/National Natural Science Foundation of China/ GR - 602174.002.001/World Food Program/ GR - 602174002001/International Food Policy Research Institute/ GR - 2019M650361/China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Grant/ PT - Journal Article DEP - 20210416 PL - Switzerland TA - Nutrients JT - Nutrients JID - 101521595 SB - IM MH - Anemia/etiology/psychology MH - Child Development MH - Child Nutrition Disorders/etiology/*psychology MH - *Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena MH - Child, Preschool MH - China/epidemiology MH - Cognition MH - Developmental Disabilities/*etiology/psychology MH - Diet/adverse effects/psychology MH - Emotions MH - Female MH - Food Assistance MH - Growth Disorders/etiology/psychology MH - Humans MH - Intelligence Tests MH - Lunch MH - Male MH - Malnutrition/etiology/psychology MH - Nutritional Status MH - Pilot Projects MH - Poverty/*psychology MH - Prevalence MH - Rural Population/*statistics & numerical data MH - Social Interaction MH - Socioeconomic Factors PMC - PMC8074246 OTO - NOTNLM OT - child development OT - cognition OT - nutrition OT - rural China OT - social emotion COIS- The authors declare no conflict of interest. EDAT- 2021/05/01 06:00 MHDA- 2021/05/27 06:00 PMCR- 2021/04/16 CRDT- 2021/04/30 01:26 PHST- 2021/03/05 00:00 [received] PHST- 2021/04/07 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2021/04/14 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2021/04/30 01:26 [entrez] PHST- 2021/05/01 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2021/05/27 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2021/04/16 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - nu13041322 [pii] AID - nutrients-13-01322 [pii] AID - 10.3390/nu13041322 [doi] PST - epublish SO - Nutrients. 2021 Apr 16;13(4):1322. doi: 10.3390/nu13041322.