Research results have been published overseas showing that mothers who do not receive sufficient nutrition during pregnancy give birth to children with significantly lower academic achievement.
According to New Zealand’s 1 News on the 6th, researchers at AUT University in New Zealand have followed and observed about 1,400 South Pacific island children born at a hospital in southern Auckland since 2000. The researchers concluded that a mother’s nutritional intake during pregnancy has a significant impact on her child’s educational attainment.
According to the researchers, 649 children born to mothers who revealed in an interview at the beginning of the study that they did not eat enough during pregnancy were followed-up 17 years later and found that their educational attainment was significantly lower than that of other children.
In particular, 10% of the study subjects did not even pass Step 1, the basic stage of ‘NCEA’, New Zealand’s academic ability evaluation system for university entrance exams. Additionally, only 31% of them passed the highest level, Level 3, and only 22% succeeded in entering university.
Dr. El-Shadun Tautolo, who led the study, said, “Children born into families who did not have a stable intake of food had lower academic ability and had greater difficulties in entering university than children born into families who had a stable intake of food.” “There may be many factors that affect school performance, but it is clear that poor dietary intake during pregnancy has a strong statistical association with children’s later academic achievement.”
The researchers also reported that children born to mothers who did not receive proper nutrition during pregnancy had a negative impact on their physical development, including gaining more weight than other children when they turned 14.
Dr. Tautolo said of this study, “This is the first study of its kind in the world. We have followed the children for a long period of time, interviewing them every two years.”
Choi Jae-ho,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.