Children who eat this every day are more likely to be taller

ST. LOUIS — They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and for kids, that especially could be the case when it comes to having eggs. Research shows that eggs are an essential dietary staple for young children which can help ensure they’re one of the taller students in their class.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis conducted an experiment with infants between six and nine months old in Ecuador. Some randomly-selected participants were tasked with adding an egg each day to their diet over a period of six months, while others were part of a control group that did not eat any eggs.

The group of infants who consumed eggs daily were later found to be 47 percent less likely to experience stunting, that is, slow height development. Moreover, 74 percent were less likely to be underweight than children in the control group.

“We were surprised by just how effective this intervention proved to be,” comments lead researcher Lora Iannotti in a statement. “The size of the effect was 0.63 compared to the 0.39 global average.”

It should also be mentioned that levels of sugar consumption were constrained amongst participants in the test group, perhaps skewing the results. Nevertheless, this study presents a solution to malnutrition in areas that lack access to proper nourishment, as eggs not only offer a balanced meal that’s easy to find, but one often comes in safe packaging.

“Our study carefully monitored allergic reactions to eggs, yet no incidents were observed or reported by caregivers during the weekly home visits,” adds Iannotti. “Eggs seem to be a viable and recommended source of nutrition for children in developing countries.”

The study’s findings are published in the journal Pediatrics.

Note: This article was first published on June 8, 2017.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *