One of the elements such as iron. When children receive the level of food intake with low iron content will result in a deficiency in the brain (the reduced ability of the brain), although they get medical treatment from the beginning, it was reported by American researchers.
The results of a study of 185 Costa Rican adolescents show that they are at the age of the children had iron deficiency in nutrition during the first five years of their lives, never pass the tests of memory and the ability to learn, and the greater the iron deficiency in nutrients obtained at the age of five years then the worse the condition is also in conjunction with their age.
The results, published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Adolescent show how important nutrition at early age from infancy to five years, according to the researchers reported.
"If the direct and indirect effects of iron deficiency element which resulted in disruption or delay the development of the base of the brain may occur effects of 'snowball' (more and more severe)," said Dr.. Betsy Lozoff of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who led the study.
Lozoff and her colleagues, funded by the State Health Institute (USA) studied 185 children since the age of one year.
The children were examined at their first visit to find out how much iron deficiency which they suffer and administered tests of cognitive (thinking skills) periodically in accordance with their age to determine their ability in terms of learning, thinking and remembering.
Toddlers who receive nutritional content of the element iron with a low level given additional food intake levels of iron but it can not make their brain power capabilities to the level of normal even in infants who are diagnosed with anemia (iron deficiency cases is often the case)
The researchers then compared the 53 infants with a deficiency (lack of) chronic iron with 132 normal babies.
Among children under five who come from families with middle social strata are not sharp differences in cognitive abilities from infancy until they reach their teens.
"But in children under five from families with low social level seen increasing differences of their cognitive disability with age starting from the number 10 on the under-fives and became the number 25 at the age of 19 years, reported researchers from the University of Michigan.
One fifth of twenty-five percent of children worldwide suffer from iron deficiency anemia in cases of a condition in which lack of iron causes problems with their blood cells.
The results of the second study also published in the same journal found that children who drank milk formula from a bottle after one year of age tend to have iron deficiency than children who drank the milk formula with the same age but to drink from a glass.
Dr. Trenna Sutcliffe and his colleagues from the University of Toronto monitoring and testing of 150 healthy children ranging in age from 12 to 38 months who drink formula.
They found 37 percent of children who drank milk formula from a bottle and 18 percent who drink cow's milk from a glass, the level of iron in their nutrition slightly lower than required.
"Bottle the milk seems to be a tool that causes the excessive consumption of infant formula so that the children had enough intake of infant formula would be refusing to eat other foods that have a high iron content," the researchers reported.