ACTIVITY AND BEHAVIORAL-DEVELOPMENT IN STUNTED AND NONSTUNTED CHILDREN AND RESPONSE TO NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTATION

It is frequently assumed that undernutrition in young children leads t o poor development through reduced activity. 3 groups of 26 1-year-old stunted children were studied: nutritional supplementation, supplemen tation with psychosocial stimulation, and controls. 26 nonstunted comp arison children were also studied. Activity levels were measured by ex tensive observations in the homes, and development using 4 subscales o f the Griffith's Mental Development Scales. Initially, stunted childre n were less active than nonstunted ones (p < .01), but after 6 months they caught up regardless of treatment. The mental ages of the stunted children were lower than those of the nonstunted children initially, and improved with either treatment. Initially, activity levels made a significant contribution to the variance in the locomotor subscale onl y, but not 6 months later. Activity did not predict change in developm ent over 6 or 12 months, nor did change in activity over 6 months pred ict change in development over 12 months.