Impact of Early Nutrition on Cognitive Development in Children; A systematic review

Abstract

Background:
The brain of children requires all essential nutrients in adequate amounts. Adequate and balanced nutrients are essential for development and functioning of the brain. Cognitive development (CD) in early life often predicts the later achievements in life. Therefore, nutrition has a vital role in shaping CD across the lifespan from infancy to older age. Furthermore, nutritional requirements vary potentially based on several aspects including age of the individual.
Aim:
To assess the effect of nutrition on cognition in pediatrics by reviewing the research reported on such subjects.
Methods:
Exploration of electronic databases was done to get eligible articles and through the implementation of various terms for the search process. Eligible articles were original, English, and Full-text, concerned with the correlation and/or impact of nutrition on CD
among the pediatric population.
Results:
Ten studies agreed with the criteria and were enrolled with 2416 children included in the studies with age range of six months to 12 years. The studies encompassed different designs. The findings were presented in a proper manner.
Conclusion:
Good and balanced nutrition is essential for proper CD in children, as CD is associated with their nutritional status. Proper CD is associated with adequate and balanced nourishment and vice versa.