Agarwal D K, Agarwal K N, Upadhyay S K
Indian J Med Res. 1989 Jun;90:163-74.
The effect of food supplementation in rural primary school children was studied on physical growth and mental functions. Children (146) received 450-500 calories with 10-12 g of protein for an average of 172 days a year, for 2 yr (1984-1986). Height was found not to differ significantly in the supplemented group as compared to controls. However, there was marginally better weight gain. More children in the supplemented group remained in grade I in contrast to the controls who shifted to grade II nutritional status after 2 yr. Children receiving the supplementation showed marginal increment in full scale, verbal and performance IQ. The improvement was significant for all subtests except for comprehension and maze tests. The observations on unstructured Piagetian developmental tasks also indicated that the performance of children on task conservation of liquid was improved marginally after supplementation. However, on Bender Gestalt test, no change was observed. The scores on arithmetic achievement test showed improvement of 12-14 points in the supplementation group. It appears that nutrition supplementation is beneficial for better school attendance, and reduction in the drop out rate; it also improves intelligence and cognitive function to a marginal extent. However, as this age group falls in the slow growth period, no catch up was observed in physical growth.
研究了食物补充对农村小学生身体发育和心理功能的影响。146名儿童每年平均172天接受含有450 - 500卡路里热量和10 - 12克蛋白质的食物补充，持续2年（1984 - 1986年）。结果发现，与对照组相比，补充组儿童的身高无显著差异。然而，体重增加略好一些。与对照组在2年后升入二年级相比，补充组更多儿童仍处于一年级。接受补充的儿童在全量表、语言和操作智商方面有轻微提高。除理解和迷宫测试外，所有子测试的改善均具有显著性。对非结构化皮亚杰发展任务的观察还表明，补充后儿童在液体守恒任务上的表现略有改善。然而，在本德尔格式塔测试中未观察到变化。补充组算术成绩测试的分数提高了12 - 14分。看来营养补充有利于提高出勤率和降低辍学率；它也在一定程度上提高了智力和认知功能。然而，由于这个年龄组处于生长缓慢期，在身体发育方面未观察到追赶现象。
