@misc{10481/78345,
year = {2022},
month = {11},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/78345},
abstract = {Diet directly affects children’s physical and mental development. Nonetheless,
how food insecurity and household food consumption impact the cognitive
performance of children at risk of social exclusion remains poorly understood.
In this regard, children in Guatemala face various hazards, mainly related to
the socioeconomic difficulties that thousands of families have in the country.
The main objective of this study was to analyze the differences in cognitive
performance considering food insecurity and household food consumption
in a sample of rural and urban Guatemalan children and adolescents at risk of
social exclusion. Child cognitive performance was assessed in 134 children and
adolescents (age M = 11.37; SD = 3.54) from rural and urban settings. Language,
attention, and executive functions were assessed using neuropsychological
tasks. Differences in cognitive performance in each level of food insecurity
and household diet consumption were compared using the Mann–Whitney U
test. A stepwise multivariate regression analysis was conducted to determine
which factors may influence cognitive scores. The results showed that rural and
urban groups did not differ in terms of food insecurity. However, considering
just rural areas, differences were found between groups with food security
and insecurity in attention and executive function tasks. Moreover, differences
were found in food consumption for certain groups of food (e.g., meat,
U = 1,146, p < 0.001, g = 0.72). Regarding regressions, protein food consumption
(e.g., meat and fish), which is related to having a more balanced diet, was
a relevant factor in executive performance. Contrary to what we expected,
performance in attentional tasks was not related to the consumption of any
food group. These findings could help politicians and decision-makers to
select actions focused on improving diet balance and food security in families
at risk of social exclusion. It is necessary to carry out more specific studies on
the factors related to diet that affect the cognitive development of minors at
risk of social exclusion. In addition, it is necessary to study the implementation
of alternative interventions that include low-cost nutrients, thus ensuring that
minors have access to a more balanced diet.},
organization = {Agencia Andaluza de Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarrollo},
organization = {Junta de Andalucia Goverment (Spain)},
organization = {Universidad Loyola Andalucia	0INN007/2017},
organization = {FEDER Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades	
E-SEJ-754-UGR20},
publisher = {Frontiers},
keywords = {Children and adolescents’ development},
keywords = {Social exclusion risk},
keywords = {Diet},
keywords = {Cognition},
keywords = {Food insecurity},
keywords = {Nutrition},
keywords = {Rural–urban gap},
title = {‘Mens sana in corpore Sano’: Home food consumption implications over child cognitive performance in vulnerable contexts},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2022.994399},
author = {Company Córdoba, Rosalba and Simpson, Ian Craig},
}