Eggs improve growth in malnourished children, reports say

Eggs can help malnourished infants grow and provide high-quality protein to impoverished communities
Eggs can help malnourished infants grow and provide high-quality protein to impoverished communities

Two new studies have concluded that eggs improve growth in malnourished infants and children.

These are some of the first studies to look at the role of eggs in at-risk populations.

Results from a University of Arkansas study, funded by the American Egg Board's Egg Nutrition Center and published in the journal Food & Nutrition Research, found that adding eggs to the diets of 6 to 8-year-old children in undernourished areas of rural Uganda increased their height and weight.

In a similar Washington University in St. Louis study published in Pediatrics, feeding one egg a day (versus none) to 6 to 9-month-old infants in undernourished areas in Ecuador decreased the prevalence of stunted growth by 47% and underweight by 74%.2.

According to the World Health Organization, 159 million children are stunted and another 50 million suffer from wasting.

Malnutrition during infancy and childhood has lasting effects on health and quality of life.

Egg farms are seen as a good solution to providing rural and impoverished communities throughout the world with high-quality protein at the expense of a low environment impact.

'Affordable solution'

“The problem hits close to home, too,” said Anne L. Alonzo, President and CEO of the American Egg Board (AEB).

“Approximately three million households in the United States are unable at times during the year to provide adequate, nutritious food for their children.

“Eggs are an affordable solution with one large egg providing varying amounts of 14 essential nutrients necessary for growth and development.”

“These are impressive and exciting results” says Tia M. Rains, PhD, Executive Director of AEB’s Egg Nutrition Center. “Adding eggs to the diet is a simple concept that could be easily implemented by any population.”

This comes as news that nutrition experts say Brits are being seduced by new ‘superfoods’, wrongly believing they are more nutritious than less expensive everyday foods such as eggs.