The existing evidence linking early under-nutrition to educational outcomes in developing countries focuses largely on its impacts on grade attainment and achievement test scores, with limited evidence on the foundational cognitive skills required to perform well at school. In this article, the authors use Young Lives data and investigate the relationship between early under-nutrition and four foundational cognitive skills, to shed light on the mechanisms that explain the relationship between early nutrition and school achievement tests. In particular, they assess the impact of early stunting in Peru and Ethiopia on cognitive skills, including executive functions (EF) such as working memory and inhibitory control. For instance, being stunted at age 5 decreases working memory and inhibitory control by 12.6 % and 5.8 % s.d., respectively. Thee authors argue that good nutrition is an important determinant of a child’s learning capacity and that investment in nutrition is a way to achieve equity in learning outcomes. 

This article was first published in World Development in 2024.