Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DOI: 10.1111/mcn.12321
Original Article
Nutritional status and social behavior in preschool
children: the mediating effects of neurocognitive
functioning
Jianghong Liu* and Adrian Raine
*
School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, and Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract
Early malnutritional status has been associated with reduced cognitive ability in childhood. However, there are
almost no studies on the effect of malnutrition on positive social behavior, and no tests of possible mediating mech-
anisms. This study tests the hypothesis that poor nutritional status is associated with impaired social functioning in
childhood, and that neurocognitive ability mediates this relationship. We assessed 1553 male and female 3-year-olds
from a birth cohort on measures of malnutrition, social behavior and verbal and spatial neurocognitive functions.
Children with indicators of malnutrition showed impaired social behavior (p < .0001) as compared with children
in the control group with adequate nutritional status. These associations even persisted after controlling for social
adversity and parental education. Findings were not moderated by gender or ethnicity, and there was no interaction
effect with parental education. A doseresponse relationship was observed between degree of malnutrition and de-
gree of social behavior, with increased malnutrition associated with more impaired social behavior. Neurocognitive
ability was found to mediate the nutritionsocial behavior relationship. The mediation effect of neurocognitive func-
tioning suggests that poor nutrition negatively impacts brain areas that play important roles in developing positive
social behavior. Findings suggest that reducing poor nutrition, alternatively promoting good nutrition, may help pro-
mote positive social behavior in early childhood during a critical period for social and neurocognitive development,
with implications for improving positive health in adulthood.
Keywords: nutritional status, malnutrition, social behavior, positive behavior, preschool, children.
Correspondence: Jianghong Liu, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, 418 Curie Blvd, Room 426, Philadelphia, 19104 PA, USA.
E-mail: jhliu@nursing.upenn.edu
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321 1 of 15
2 of 15 J. Liu and A. Raine
However, later nutritional rehabilitation has been in Chinese children where iron deciency anemia
found to reverse the changes in non-playful social was associated with less positive affect and more
behavior as well as increase playful social behavior passive behavior (Chang et al. 2011). Furthermore, iron
(Almeida & De Araujo 2001; Soares et al. 2013; and zinc supplementation was reported to promote
Soares et al. 2015). Studies on primates have exploratory behavior in a group of 221 Bangladeshi
shown that protein malnutrition increases aggres- infants (Black et al. 2004). In a separate study,
sion and reduces active social play behavior while multiple-micronutrient supplementation benetted
rehabilitation of the nutritional deprivation in- physical activity and exploratory behavior in a sam-
creased duration of active social play behavior ple of 109 Mexican infants (Aburto et al. 2010).
(Zimmermann et al. 1975). Overall, these studies More recently, Lozoff et al. (2014) found that iron
suggest that malnutrition reduces social behavior supplementation in infancy promoted more adaptive
in animals, although given the mixed ndings in behavior. These initial ndings suggest that poor nu-
rats, denitive conclusions cannot be drawn. trition may impair playful and interactive behavior,
Regarding humans, there are few studies on the which is closely intertwined with positive social func-
effects of malnutrition on positive social behavior tioning in childhood. Nevertheless, these studies are
(Sigman et al. 1989; Espinosa et al. 1992; Lozoff limited in small sample size and lack doseresponse
et al. 1998; Black et al. 2004; Lozoff et al. 2007; analyses. Despite these past studies, few have
Aburto et al. 2010; Engle & Fernndez 2010). In reported on the link between nutrition status and a
a study of 110 Kenyan toddlers, reduced food in- broad range of social behavior in early childhood.
take was related to childrens active social play Furthermore, little is known on the mediating
and extent of verbalizations (Sigman et al. 1989), effect of malnutrition and social behavior on
with better nutritional status associated with posi- neurocognitive function.
tive playground social behavior and activity levels In the current study, we utilized laboratory and clini-
(Espinosa et al. 1992). Furthermore, Lozoff et al. cal indicators of malnutrition to go beyond food intake
(Lozoff et al. 1998; Lozoff et al. 2007; Lozoff to assess whether the nutritionsocial behavior rela-
et al. 2014) have reported relationships between tionship applies to early childhood in a large sample
iron deciency (one of the measures indicating of 1553 3-year-old children. The authors hypothesized
malnutrition in our current study) and early child- that (1) malnutrition would be associated with a reduc-
hood behavior, including displaying less pleasure tion in positive social functioning; (2) a doseresponse
and delight, and less playfulness in infants, as well relationship would be observed; (3) effects would
as slowness to display positive affect and less social be independent of social adversity; and (4) IQ
eye gazes toward their mothers in preschoolers. would mediate the malnutritionsocial behavior
More recently, similar ndings have been found relationship.
Key messages
Previous research with animal models shows that poor nutritional status has adverse effects on playful and non-playful
social behavior in rats.
However, in humans, limited studies show that food intake is related to playground behavior in children, and iron de-
ciency anemia is associated with poor social emotional development.
This sample of preschool children found that those with poor nutritional status at age three years show signicantly
lower levels of positive social functioning compared with controls.
Our ndings suggest a possible mechanism whereby poor nutrition leads to impaired social behavior.
The study suggests that having a good nutritional status may promote positive social behavior in children.
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
Malnutrition impairs social behavior 3 of 15
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
4 of 15 J. Liu and A. Raine
Results
Psychosocial adversity
Sample characteristics
Following our prior work, the measure of psychosocial
adversity at age 3 years included nine variables collected Complete data on both malnutrition and social behavior
by social workers who visited the homes of the children variables were available for 1535 subjects, somewhat less
(Liu et al. 2003; Raine et al. 2010). Furthermore, a total than the original sample of 1795. Those with and without
index of psychosocial adversity (Raine et al. 1998) was complete data were compared on key demographic var-
created by adding one point for each of these nine vari- iables that were available on all subjects at age 3. Groups
ables (i.e. father uneducated, mother uneducated, father did not differ on gender ( 2 = 0.98, df = 1, p > .33), ethnic-
semiskilled or in unskilled occupation, single parent sta- ity ( 2 = 2.11, df = 1, p > 0.15) or total psychosocial adver-
tus, separation from parents, large family size, poor sity score (t = 0.27, p = .79). Thus, the sub-sample was
health of mother, teenaged mother and overcrowded deemed to be representative of the larger sample on
home). The index was created along the lines similar to these measures at age 3.
those described by Rutter (1997) and Moftt (1990).
Effect of malnutrition on social behavior
Statistical analyses Means and standard deviations (SDs), together with re-
We rst conducted multivariate analysis of variance sults of specic t-test comparisons for age 3 social behav-
(MANOVA) to test for the effects of malnutrition on so- iors for the malnourished and the control groups, are
cial behavior using statistical software (SPSS; SPSS Inc., shown in Table 1 (see also Fig. 1). A MANOVA on
Chicago, Ill) and controlled for potential confounds the four dependent variables of social behavior indicated
which may mediate the effects of malnutrition on social a main group effect (F = 35, 75, df = 4, 1553, p < .001), in-
behavior, including cognitive ability at age 3, fathers ed- dicating reduced scores of social behavior at age three in
ucation level, mothers education level, the nine psycho- the malnourished group. Results of ANOVAs for individ-
social adversity variables, total social adversity score, ual social behavior components show that all social be-
ethnicity and gender. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) haviors were impacted by poor nutrition (see Table 1).
was used to ascertain which specic indicator of malnu- Furthermore, adjusted GLM results indicated similar
trition was linked to social behavior and to test for a outcomes, except that the P-value for exploratory behav-
doseresponse relationship between number of malnu- ior changed from 0.013 to 0.062 (see Table 2).
trition indicators and social behavior. Both linear and
quadratic relationships were tested. Also, MANOVA Neurocognitive ability as a mediator of the
was used to test for the mediating effect of verbal and malnutritionsocial behavior relationship
spatial neurocognitive ability. Two-tailed tests of signi-
cance were used throughout. Furthermore, we used a IQ was identied as a potential mediator, i.e.
generalized linear model (GLM) strategy to conrm variable accounting for a signicant portion of the
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
Malnutrition impairs social behavior 5 of 15
Table 1. Components of social behavior and results of t test comparisons in the malnourished and control groups
relationship between the predictor (malnutrition, that neurocognitive ability mediates the link
correlation coefcient = .107) and the outcome between malnutrition and social behavior.
variable (social behavior, correlation coef-
cient = .357). After entering verbal and spatial Potential confounds and effects of moderators
neurocognitive ability into the MANOVA, the main
effect of malnutrition on social behavior was Malnourished children were more likely to suffer over-
abolished, F (12, 3441), df = 1.01, p = .429), indicating all psychosocial adversity (t = 4.13, p < .001), to have a
Fig. 1. Four components of social behavior for malnourished and controlled group of children at three years of age. 11
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
6 of 15 J. Liu and A. Raine
Table 2. Adjusted* generalized linear regression coefcients of malnu- groups: 0, 1, 2 and 3 and more malnutrition indicators)
trition on social behavior
was conducted on social behavior. This relationship
Predictors: malnutrition vs. controls is depicted in Fig. 2. Results show a signicant
Responses B P value 95% CI
main effect of number of indicators on social
behavior, F (12,4518), df = 3.33, p < .0001, with
Social behavior -.22 <0.001 ( .30, -.14) increasing degree of malnutrition associated with
Exploratory behavior -.16 0.062 (-.33, .01) decreasing social behavior. There were both linear
Extent of verbalization -.21 0.010 ( .37, -.052)
Friendliness -.30 <0.001 ( .47, -.14)
(R2 = 0.024) and quadratic (R2 = 0.025) relationships
Active social play -1.01 <0.001 ( 1.47, -.56) between malnutrition indicators and social behav-
ior (Ps < 0.001).
*The generalized linear model adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity and the
nine psychosocial adversity variables, including parental education
level.
The total behavior used z scores, whereas the four components of
Effect of individual indicators of malnutrition on
social behavior used the total score. social behavior
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
Malnutrition impairs social behavior 7 of 15
Fig. 2. Doseresponse relationships between number of malnutrition indicators present and social behavior at three years of age.11
found to account for 55.6% of the malnutritionsocial although the quadratic relationship was noticed when
behavior relationship. A doseresponse relationship three malnutrition indicators were present, which might
between degree of malnutrition and degree of reduced be because of the groups small sample size (N = 17). All
social behavior problems was also documented, above relationships were not an artifact of psychosocial
F P F P P F P
Measure test df value test df value F test df value test df value
Social behavior
Overall ANOVA 26.03 (1,1551) .001 12.1 (1,1722) .001 10.75 (1,1724) .001 6.22 (1,1723) .013
Univariate
Exploratory 3.80 (1,1527) .073 6.83 (1,1695) .009 4.32 (1,1697) .038 .732 (1,1696) .392
behavior
Extent of 15.37 (1,1527) .001 5.55 (1,1695) .019 5.074 (1,1697) .024 4.99 (1,1696) .026
verbalization
Friendliness 22.64 (1,1527) .001 4.29 (1,1695) .039 10.43 (1,1697) .001 4.28 (1,1696) .039
Active social play 25.13 (1,1527) .001 9.47 (1,1695) .002 3.83 (1,1697) .051 3.027 (1,1696) .082
Univariate analysis of variance was conducted on overall social behavior to assess the effect of individual malnutrition indicators. Multivariate analysis
of variance was conducted to assess the effect of malnutrition indicators on individual social behavior components.
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
8 of 15 J. Liu and A. Raine
P value
.030
.422
.981
.931
.207
adversity and were not inuenced by parental education.
Analyses are consistent with the notion that malnutrition
rst impairs neurocognition and brain functioning, which
Sparse, thin hair
.29, .02)
1.28,.28)
in turn hampers the development of positive social func-
.17,.41)
.27,.27)
.29,.26)
95%CI
tioning skills in children. To the authors knowledge,
these ndings are the rst to indicate a possible mecha-
(
(
(
(
(
nism in humans whereby poor nutrition translates itself
.001
.002
into impaired social behavior.
Beta
.05
.02
.03
Past research has reported on the relationship be-
tween nutrition and behavior, particularly externalizing
P value
.31, .05)
.55, .03)
.07
.03
.03
.05
.03
P value
The total behavior used z scores, whereas the four components of social behavior used the total score.
1.59, .17)
.50,.03)
.42,.08)
.40,.11)
.07
.04
.03
.03
.06
.000
.228
.002
.000
.000
.28, .10)
.55, .18)
.47, .11)
95%CI
.31,.08)
.03
.08
.10
.10
.11
Friendliness
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
Malnutrition impairs social behavior 9 of 15
that poor nutrition negatively affects brain functioning One experimental intervention study has shown that
which in turn impairs the development of positive social vitamin E supplementation results in increased
behavior. Malnutrition has been increasingly recog- verbalizations and social play behavior in toddlers in
nized as a factor that may play a role in altering brain Indonesia (Pollitt et al. 2000). Supplemental iron in in-
function via three independent mechanisms: retarding fancy has been shown to increase adaptive behavior
brain cell growth/development (reducing the number at 10 years of age (Lozoff et al. 2014). Recent experi-
of neurons), altering brain neurochemistry (neuro- mental animal studies have also shown that mouse so-
transmitters) and increasing the effects of neurotoxicity ciability and brain serotonin turnover are reduced by
(e.g. lead toxicity) (Liu & Raine 2006; Laus et al. 2011). acute tryptophan depletion and can be enhanced by
The nding that neurocognitive functioning accounted supplementation (Zhang et al. 2015). Taken together
for 55.6% of the nutritionsocial behavior relationship with the current ndings of reduced verbalizations,
supports the partial mediation hypothesis that poor nu- friendliness and active social play behavior in malnour-
trition results in poorer brain functioning (as indicated ished children, these ndings suggest that poor nutri-
by reduced neurocognitive functioning), which in turn tion may predispose to reduced positive social
impairs positive social behavior. interaction in children. In terms of indicators of malnu-
A key question concerns the functional neuroana- trition, anemia was found to have the most important
tomical underpinnings of the nutrition social behavior inuence on social behavior, because it was more signif-
relationship which specic brain areas are implicated? icantly associated across the four components of social
The burgeoning new eld of social neuroscience is behavior. A future longitudinal study which includes
documenting the role of the social brain in orchestrat- nutritional supplementation such as iron could help fur-
ing social behavior in humans (Adolphs 2003; Kennedy ther tease out the causal ordering of the associations
& Adolphs 2012). Brain areas linked with positive so- observed in this study.
cial behavioral characteristics include the inferior pari-
etal lobule (Rapp et al. 2008), the anterior cingulate Implications
gyrus (Haas et al. 2006), the prefrontal cortex (Wright
et al. 2006) and the temporalparietal junction (Decety The potential importance and implications of the cur-
& Lamm 2007). Recent experimental animal research rent ndings can be viewed on a number of levels.
has revealed cellular activation in limbic brain systems While an increasing body of evidence indicates that
during active social play behavior (van Kerkhof et al. malnutrition negatively impacts cognitive development
2014). These brain regions have in turn been found to (Alamy & Bengelloun 2012), positive social behavior
be particularly affected by a reduction in food intake. has been relatively ignored. Positive social interactions
For example, patients with anorexia nervosa have been have been linked with later physical and mental health
shown to have reduced gray matter volumes specically (Uvnas-Moberg 1998; Brlde 2007; Segrin & Taylor
in frontal and parietal brain regions, decits which are 2007; Umberson 2010; Thoits 2011). Empirical evi-
remediated by weight normalization (Swayze et al. dence supports the notion that positive social function-
2003). Consequently, through its negative effects on ing is related to better psychological well-being (Segrin
prefrontal and parietal brain networks critical to social & Taylor 2007), quality of life (Bowling et al. 2003;
behavior, poor nutrition in children could reduce posi- Brlde 2007; Levasseur et al. 2009) and longevity
tive social behaviors (Alamy & Bengelloun 2012; (Anme et al. 2007). Cross-sectional studies have shown
Plaven-Sigray et al. 2014). We caution however that this an association between positive social behavior and
is a provisional hypothesis that requires further sub- better health-related quality of life (Guyatt et al.
stantiation and testing in future research that integrates 1993), while longitudinal studies have shown that early
functional brain imaging, nutrition and social behavior. positive social behavior is positively related to reduced
The current ndings also raise questions concerning adolescent deviance (Ary et al. 1999), better quality of
the issue of causality, and whether the negative effect life and less chronic disorders in adulthood (Dawson
of poor nutrition on social behavior can be reversed. et al. 1994; Ary et al. 1999), as well as slowed decline
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
10 of 15 J. Liu and A. Raine
of mental status in the elderly (Lowenthal 1964). Posi- et al. 2012). Physical activity has also been linked
tive social interactions have also been linked with to improvements in mental health (Stathopoulou
health-promoting effects and reduced stress (Uvnas- et al. 2006; Stanton et al. 2014), such as the allevi-
Moberg 1998). Because reduced stress can combat hy- ation of depression (Deslandes et al. 2009) and
pertension and heart disease (Turner et al. 1995; Spence anxiety symptoms (De Moor et al. 2006) and in-
et al. 1999), early positive social behavior may protect creased quality of life (Anokye et al. 2012). More-
against the development of chronic adult physical ill- over, research has also shown that psychosocial
ness. Stress load has also been linked to increased psy- stimulation (play sessions) during early childhood
chopathology, and studies have implicated stress as a is linked to reduced involvements in ghts and se-
risk factor in increased depressive symptoms and sub- rious violent behavior later in life (Walker et al.
stance abuse (Weber et al. 2008; Brietzke et al. 2012; 2011; Tremblay 2012).
Lewandowski et al. 2014); this association suggests that Low IQ represents the best-replicated cognitive
reduced stress may have the added benet of leading to risk factor for externalizing behavior problems.
reduced psychopathology. Furthermore, longitudinal studies have shown that
With respect to neurocognitive functioning, positive early neurocognitive decits precede the onset of
social behavior in early childhood has been associated antisocial behavior (Cottle et al. 2001; Raine et al.
with increased cognitive competency, scholastic ability 2002b; DeLisi & Vaughn 2011; Liu 2011). For ex-
and neurocognitive test performance in later childhood ample, low spatial IQ at age 3 (as well as and
(Raine et al. 2002a; Bornstein et al. 2010). These effects low verbal and spatial IQ at age 11) predicted
are not trivial in that effect sizes (Cohens d) of previous life-course persistent antisocial behavior in commu-
studies range from .52 to .87 (Raine et al. 2002a). It has nity children, with similar ndings observed by
been hypothesized that young children who physically others (Raine et al. 2002b). Neuropsychological
explore their environment, engage socially with other decits have been found to characterize child and
children and verbally interact with adults create for adult violent and antisocial behavior (Cottle et al.
themselves an enriched, stimulating, varied and chal- 2001; Raine et al. 2002b). Similarly, poor school
lenging environment. This environmental enrichment achievements and failure to complete school have
in turn is hypothesized to result in enhanced brain func- also been shown to be positively related to juvenile
tioning, resulting in better neurocognitive ability and delinquency (Farrington 1989; Henry et al. 2012;
better school performance (Raine et al. 2002a; Pang & Jakobsen et al. 2012).
Hannan 2013). In particular, children who scored high Taken together, there is reason to believe that
on the exploratory behavior component in this study positive social behavior early in life can positively
would be expected to engage in more physical activity. impact later health, school performance and IQ. As
Physical exercise in turn is known to promote such, the current ndings suggest that the effect of
neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus poor nutrition on the childs positive social behavior
(van Praag et al. 1999; Kim et al. 2010; Erickson et al. has much broader implications for the childs later
2011), a brain area of importance in both attention and well-being than previously suspected. This in turn
memory. In humans, there is increasing evidence that ex- suggests that early adequate nutrition, by impacting
ercise can be benecial to cognitive functioning (Best positive social behavior, has implications for well-
2010; Smith et al. 2010; Biddle & Asare 2011; Donnelly being that extend beyond physical health.
& Lambourne 2011). Recent studies suggest that the
benecial effects of physical activity/tness during child- Limitations and conclusions
hood and adolescence carry over into adulthood,
resulting in an improved health status as indicated by Several limitations need to be acknowledged. First,
cardiovascular health, musculoskeletal function and ndings are restricted to childhood, and we did not
body composition (Boreham & Riddoch 2001; assess the long-term effects of malnutrition on
Malina 2001; Janssen & Leblanc 2010; Gunter socialbehavioral outcomes. Second, while the
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
Malnutrition impairs social behavior 11 of 15
assessments used included a biochemical measure an initial model upon which future studies may
of hemoglobin that can be deemed a strength of build. Because positive social behaviors subse-
the study, we may not have detected more subtle quently inuence mental health, which has a lifelong
nutritional deciencies in children lacking objective impact on individuals, research in this area is partic-
malnutrition indicators. Furthermore, anemia is ularly important. We suggest that our ndings pro-
considered relatively severe as dened by our he- vide an initial proof of principle that the effects of
moglobin levels, and blood loss can be potentially malnutrition on behavior are mediated through cog-
caused by malaria and infestation as opposed to nitive impairment. Nevertheless, future studies need
poor nutrition. Third, although childrens nutri- to ascertain whether this model is supported at more
tional status and social behavior were blindly eval- marginal levels of nutritional impairments.
uated, the social behavior raters might not have
been completely blind to childrens nutritional sta-
Acknowledgements
tus based on childrens physical appearance, al-
though they were blind to the hypothesis under The authors thank Marie-Clare Calambay, Meena
study. Finally, ndings from Mauritius need to be Calinghen, Athene Chiriaca, Cyril Dalais, Fazila
replicated and extended in Western cultures. Dinally, Devi Jaganathen, Goorah Rajah and Charles
Set against these limitations are several strengths that Yip Tong for help in data collection and scoring and
support the robustness of our ndings. First, nutrition Cyril Dalais for help in conducting research.
status included both a biochemical assessment
(hemoglobin) and clinical evaluation by pediatricians.
Second, social behavior was measured by four different Source of funding
components to cover a broad construct of social func-
tioning in a controlled laboratory setting and had been This study was supported by National Institutes of
previously psychometrically established using conrma- Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Sci-
tory factor analysis (Raine et al. 2010). Third, the fact ences USA (NIH/NIEHS) 1K02ES019878 and Na-
that gender and ethnicity did not moderate the multivar- tional Institute of Nursing Research USA (NINR)
iate ndings indicates that the nutritionsocial behavior 5F32NR008661 to Dr. Liu; and National Institute of
relationship is not specic to one gender or ethnic Mental Health USA (NIMH) Independent Scientist
grouping. Fourth, while a signicant linear dose Award (K02 MH-01114), a grant from the Borchard
response relationship conrms and extends the nding Foundation and a grant from NIMH (R01 MH-46435)
of the relationship between malnutrition and social to Dr. Raine; and a grant from the Ministry of Health
behavior, a quadratic effect was also observed indicating of the Mauritian Government. The funders had no role
that three indicators of malnutrition did not impair in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to
social behavior any further. This latter effect should be publish or preparation of the manuscript.
treated with caution because of small sample size of
the group with three indicators (N = 17). Fifth, ndings
are based on a large community sample of over 1500 Conicts of interest
participants. For these reasons, we believe that our nd-
ings reect a reliable relationship between adequate The authors declare that they have no conicts of
nutrition status and positive social behavior. interest.
In conclusion, this study extends and amplies
ndings from the only other study conducted on
children, and to our knowledge is the rst to Contributions
attempt to understand the mechanism of action
by which poor nutrition translates into reduced Jianghong Liu: Dr. Liu conceptualized and designed
positive social behaviors. Findings in turn provide the study, performed statistical analyses, developed
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
12 of 15 J. Liu and A. Raine
the manuscript, drafted the initial manuscript and Best J.R. (2010) Effects of physical activity on childrens
executive function: contributions of experimental re-
approved the nal manuscript as submitted. Adrian
search on aerobic exercise. Developmental Review 30
Raine: Dr. Raine conceptualized and designed the
(4), 331551.
study, and approved the nal manuscript as submitted. Biddle S.J.H. & Asare M. (2011) Physical activity and mental
All authors read and approved the nal manuscript. health in children and adolescents: a review of reviews.
British Journal of Sports Medicine 45, 886895.
Black M.M., Baqui A.H., Zaman K., Ake Persson L., El
Arifeen S., Le K. et al. (2004) Iron and zinc supplementation
References promote motor development and exploratory behavior
among Bangladeshi infants. American Journal of Clinical
Aburto N.J., Ramirez-Zea M., Neufeld L.M. & Flores-Ayala Nutrition 80 (4), 903910.
R. (2010) The effect of nutritional supplementation on phys- Boehm A. (1986) Boehm Test of Basic ConceptsPreschool
ical activity and exploratory behavior of Mexican infants Version. Psychological Corporation: San Antonio, TX.
aged 812 months. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition Bogale A., Stoecker B.J., Kennedy T., Hubbs-Tait L., Thomas
64 (6), 644651. D., Abebe Y. et al. (2013) Nutritional status and cognitive
Adolphs R. (2003) Cognitive neuroscience of human social performance of motherchild pairs in Sidama, Southern
behavior. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 4 (3), 165178. Ethiopia. Maternal & Child Nutrition 9 (2), 274284. DOI:
Alamy M. & Bengelloun W.A. (2012) Malnutrition and brain 10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00345.x.
development: an analysis of the effects of inadequate diet dur- Boreham C. & Riddoch C. (2001) The physical activity, tness
ing different stages of life in rat. Neuroscience and Biobehav- and health of children. Journal of Sports Science 19 (12),
ioral Reviews 36 (6), 14631480. 915929.
Almeida S.S. & De Araujo M. (2001) Postnatal protein Bornstein M.H., Hahn C.S. & Haynes O.M. (2010) Social com-
manutrition affects play behavior and other social interactions petence, externalizing, and internalizing behavioral adjust-
in juvenile rats. Physiology & Behavior 74 (12), 4551. ment from early childhood through early adolescence:
Almeida S.S., Tonkiss J. & Galler J.R. (1996) Prenatal protein developmental cascades. Development and Psychopathol-
malnutrition affects the social interactions of juvenile rats. ogy 22 (4), 717735.
Physiology & Behavior 60 (1), 179201. Bowling A., Gabriel Z., Dykes J., Dowding L.M., Evans O.,
Anme T., Shinohara R., Sugisawa Y. & McCall M.E. (2007) Fleissig A. et al. (2003) Lets ask them: a national survey of
Social interaction and longevity: an eleven-year longitudinal denitions of quality of life and its enhancement among
study of older persons in a Japanese village. Hallym Interna- people aged 65 and over. International Journal of Aging &
tional Journal of Aging 9 (2), 89105. Human Development 56 (4), 269306.
Anokye N.K., Trueman P., Green C., Pavey T.G. & Taylor R. Brietzke E., Kauer-Santanna M., Jackowski A., Grassi-
S. (2012) Physical activity and health related quality of life. Oliveira R., Bucker J., Zugman A. et al. (2012) Impact of
BMC Public Health 12 (1), 1. childhood stress on psychopathology. Revista Brasileira de
Ary D.V., Duncan T.E., Biglan A., Metzler C.W., Noell J.W. & Psiquiatria 34 (4), 480488.
Smolkowski K. (1999) Development of adolescent problem Brlde B. (2007) Happiness and the good life: introduction and
behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 27 (2), conceptual framework. Journal of Happiness Studies 8 (1),
141150. 114.
Bakoyiannis I., Gkioka E., Daskalopoulou A., Korou L.M., Camargo, L.M.M., & de Sousa Almeida, S. (2005). Early post-
Perrea D. & Pergialiotis V. (2015) An explanation of the natal protein malnutrition changes the development of
pathophysiology of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes social play in rats. Physiology & behavior, 85(3), 246251.
in iron deciency. Reviews in the Neurosciences. DOI: Chang S., Wang L., Wang Y., Brouwer I.D., Kok F.J.,
10.1515/revneuro-2015-0012. Lozoff B. et al. (2011) Iron-deciency anemia in infancy
Belluscio L.M., Berardino B.G., Ferroni N.M., Ceruti J.M. and social emotional development in preschool-aged
& Canepa E.T. (2014) Early protein malnutrition nega- Chinese children. Pediatrics 127 (4), e927e933. DOI:
tively impacts physical growth and neurological reexes 10.1542/peds.2010-1659.
and evokes anxiety and depressive-like behaviors. Physi- Corapci F., Calatroni A., Kaciroti N., Jimenez E. & Lozoff B.
ology & Behavior 129, 237254. DOI: 10.1016/j. (2010) Longitudinal evaluation of externalizing and inter-
physbeh.2014.02.051. nalizing behavior problems following iron deciency in
Berglund S.K., Westrup B., Hagglof B., Hernell O. & infancy. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 35 (3), 296305.
Domellof M. (2013) Effects of iron supplementation of Cottle C.C., Lee R.J. & Heilbrun K. (2001) The prediction of
LBW infants on cognition and behavior at 3 years. Pediatrics criminal recidivism in juveniles: a meta-analysis. Criminal
131 (1), 4755. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-0989. Justice and Behavior 28 (3), 367394.
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
Malnutrition impairs social behavior 13 of 15
Dawson G., Hessl D. & Frey K. (1994) Social inuences on Gunter K.B., Almstedt H.C. & Janz K.F. (2012) Physical
early developing biological and behavioral systems related activity in childhood may be the key to optimizing lifespan
to risk for affective disorder. Development and Psychopa- skeletal health. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews 40 (1),
thology 6 (4), 759779. 1321. DOI: 10.1097/JES.0b013e318236e5ee.
De Moor M.H.M., Beem A.L., Stubbe J.H., Boomsma D.I. & Guyatt G.H., Feeny D.H. & Patrick D.L. (1993) Measuring
De Geus D. (2006) Regular exercise, anxiety, depression health-related quality of life. Annals of Internal Medicine
and personality: a population-based study. Preventive Medi- 118 (8), 622629.
cine 42, 273279. Haas B.W., Omura K., Amin Z., Constable R.T. & Canli T.
Decety J. & Lamm C. (2007) The role of the right (2006) Functional connectivity with the anterior cingulate
temporoparietal junction in social interaction: how low-level is associated with extraversion during the emotional Stroop
computational processes contribute to meta-cognition. The task. Social Neuroscience 1 (1), 1624.
Neuroscientist 13 (6), 580593. Henry K.L., Knight K.E. & Thornberry T.P. (2012) School
DeLisi M. & Vaughn M.G. (2011) The importance of neuropsy- disengagement as a predictor of dropout, delinquency, and
chological decits relating to self-control and temperament problem substance use during adolescence and early adult-
to the prevention of serious antisocial behavior. International hood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 41 (2), 156166.
Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies 2 (1/2), 1235. DOI: 10.1007/s10964-011-9665-3.
Deslandes A., Moraes H., Ferreira C., Veiga H., Silveira H., Jakobsen I.S., Fergusson D. & Horwood J.L. (2012) Early
Mouta R. et al. (2009) Exercise and mental health: many conduct problems, school achievement and later crime: nd-
reasons to move. Neuropsychobiology 59 (4), 191198. ings from a 30-year longitudinal study. New Zealand Journal
Donnelly J.E. & Lambourne K. (2011) Classroom-based phys- of Educational Studies 47 (1), 123.
ical activity, cognition, and academic achievement. Preven- Janssen I. & Leblanc A.G. (2010) Systematic review of the
tive Medicine 52 (Suppl 1), S36S42. health benets of physical activity and tness in school-
Engle P.L. & Fernndez P.D. (2010) INCAP studies of malnu- aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral
trition and cognitivee behavior. Food and Nutrition Bulletin Nutrition and Physical Activity 7, 40. DOI: 10.1186/1479-
31 (1), 8394. 5868-7-40.
Erickson K.I., Voss M.W., Prakash R.S., Basak C., Szabo Kennedy D.P. & Adolphs R. (2012) The social brain in psychi-
A., Chaddock L. et al. (2011) Exercise training in- atric and neurological disorders. Trends in Cognitive
creases size of hippocampus and improves memory. Sciences 16 (11), 559572.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of Kim S.E., Ko I.G., Kim B.K., Shin M.S., Cho S., Kim C.J.
the United States of America 108 (7), 30173022. DOI: et al. (2010) Treadmill exercise prevents aging-induced
10.1073/pnas.1015950108. failure of memory through an increase in neurogenesis
Espinosa M.P., Sigman M.D., Neumann C.G. & Bwibo N.O. and suppression of apoptosis in rat hippocampus.
(1992) Playground behaviors of school-age children in Experimental Gerontology 45 (5), 357365. DOI: 10.1016/
relation to nutrition, schooling and family characteristics. j.exger.2010.02.005.
Developmental Psychology 28 (6), 11881195. Laus M.F., Vales L.D.M.F., Costa T.M.B. & Almeida S.S.
Farrington D.P. (1989) Early predictors of adolescent aggres- (2011) Early postnatal protein-calorie malnutrition and
sion and adult violence. Violence and Victimes 4 (2), 79100. cognition: a review of human and animal studies. Interna-
Galler J.R., Bryce C.P., Waber D.P., Medford G., Eagleseld tional Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
G.D. & Fitzmaurice G. (2011) Early malnutrition predicts 8 (2), 590612.
parent reports of externalizing behaviors at ages 917. Nutri- Levasseur M., St-Cry Tribble D. & Desrosiers J. (2009) Mean-
tional Neuroscience 14 (4), 138144. ing of quality of life for older adults: importance of human
Galler J.R., Bryce C.P., Zichlin M.L., Fitzmaurice G., functioning components. Archives of Gerontology and Geri-
Eagleseld G.D. & Waber D.P. (2012) Infant malnutrition atrics 49 (2), e91e100.
is associated with persisting attention decits in middle Lewandowski G.W. Jr., Mattingly B.A. & Pedreiro A. (2014)
adulthood. Journal of Nutrition 142 (4), 788794. DOI: Under pressure: the effects of stress on positive and nega-
10.3945/jn.111.145441. tive relationship behaviors. Journal of Social Psychology
Galler J.R., Bryce C.P., Zichlin M.L., Waber D.P., Exner N., 154 (5), 463473. DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2014.933162.
Fitzmaurice G.M. et al. (2013) Malnutrition in the rst year Liu J. (2011) Early health risk factors for violence: conceptual-
of life and personality at age 40. Journal of Child Psychology ization, evidence, and implications. Aggression and Violent
and Psychiatry 54 (8), 911919. Behavior 16 (1), 6373.
Grantham-McGregor S. & Ani C. (2001) A review of Liu J. & Raine A. (2006) The effect of childhood malnutri-
studies on the effect of iron deciency on cognitive tion on externalizing behavior. Current Opinion in
development in children. Journal of Nutrition 131 (2S-2), Pediatrics 18 (5), 565570. DOI: 10.1097/01.
649S666S. mop.0000245360.13949.91.
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
14 of 15 J. Liu and A. Raine
Liu J. & Raine A. (2011) Malnutrition and externalizing Pollitt E., Saco-Pollitt C., Jahari A., Husaini M.A. & Huang J.
behavior. In: Lifetime Nutritional Inuences on Cogni- (2000) Effects of an energy and micronutrient supplement
tion, Behaviour and Psychiatric Illness (ed. D. Benton), on mental development and behavior under natural condi-
pp 301322. Woodhead Publishing: Cambridge. tions in undernourished children in Indonesia. European
Liu J., Raine A., Venables P.H., Dalais C. & Mednick S.A. Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54, S80S90.
(2003) Malnutrition at age 3 years and lower cognitive abil- Raine A., Liu J., Venables P.H., Mednick S.A. & Dalais C.
ity at age 11 years: independence from psychosocial adver- (2010) Cohort prole: the Mauritius child health project.
sity. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 157 (6), International Journal of Epidemiology 39 (6), 14411451.
593600. Raine A., Mellingen K., Liu J., Venables P. & Mednick S.A.
Liu J., Raine A., Venables P.H. & Mednick S.A. (2004) Malnu- (2003) Effects of environmental enrichment at 35 years
trition at age 3 years and externalizing behavior problems at on schizotypal personality and antisocial behavior at
ages 8, 11, and 17 years. American Journal of Psychiatry 161 ages 17 and 23 years. American Journal of Psychiatry
(11), 20052013. 160 (9), 16271635.
Liu J., Raine A., Wuerker A., Venables P.H. & Mednick S. Raine A., Portnoy J., Liu J., Mahoomed T. & Hibbeln J.R.
(2009) The association of birth complications and exter- (2015) Reduction in behavior problems with omega-3 sup-
nalizing behavior in early adolescents: direct and mediat- plementation in children aged 816 years: a randomized,
ing effects. Journal of Research on Adolescence 19 (1), double-blind, placebo-controlled, stratied, parallel-group
93111. trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 56 (5),
Lowenthal M.F. (1964) Social isolation and mental illness in 509520. DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12314.
old age. American Sociological Review 29 (1), 5470. Raine A., Reynolds C., Venables P.H. & Mednick S.A. (2002a)
Lozoff B. (2000) Perinatal iron deciency and the developing Stimulation seeking and intelligence: a prospective longitudi-
brain. Pediatric Research 48 (2), 137139. nal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 82 (4),
Lozoff B., Castillo M., Clark K.M., Smith J.B. & Sturza 663674.
J. (2014) Iron supplementation in infancy contributes Raine A., Reynolds C., Venables P.H., Mednick S.A. &
to more adaptive behavior at 10 years of age. Journal Farrington D.P. (1998) Fearlessness, stimulation-seeking,
of Nutrition 144 (6), 838845. DOI: 10.3945/ and large body size at age 3 years as early predispositions
jn.113.182048. to childhood aggression at age 11 years. Archives of General
Lozoff B., Clark K.M., Jing Y., Armony-Siven R., Angelilli M. Psychiatry 55 (8), 745751.
L. & Jacobson S.W. (2008) Doseresponse relationships be- Raine A., Yaralian P.S., Reynolds C., Venables P.H. &
tween iron deciency with or without anemia and infant Mednick S. (2002b) Spatial but not verbal cognitive decits
socialemotional behavior. Journal of Pediatrics 152 (5), at age 3 years in persistently antisocial individuals. Develop-
696702. ment and Psychopathology 14 (1), 2544.
Lozoff B., Corapci F., Burden M.J., Kaciroti N., Angulo- Rapp A.M., Wild B., Erb M., Rodden F.A., Ruch W. & Grodd
Barroso R., Sazawal S. et al. (2007) Preschool-aged children W. (2008) Trait cheerfulness modulates bold response in lat-
with iron deciency anemia show altered affect and behav- eral cortical but not limbic brain areas: a pilot fMRI study.
ior. Journal of Nutrition 137 (3), 683689. Neuroscience Letters 445 (3), 242245.
Lozoff B., Klein N.K., Nelson E.C., McClish D.K., Manuel M. Rutter M. (1997) Family area and school inuences in the gen-
& Chacon M.E. (1998) Behavior of infants with iron- esis of conduct disorders. In: Aggression and Anti-Social
deciency anemia. Child Development 69 (1), 2436. Behavior in Childhood and Adolescence (ed. D.F. Conner),
Malina R.M. (2001) Physical activity and tness: pathways pp 95114. Pergamon Press: Oxford, England.
from childhood to adulthood. American Journal of Human Segrin C. & Taylor M. (2007) Positive interpersonal relation-
Biology 13 (2), 162172. ships mediate the association between social skills and psy-
Moftt T.E. (1990) Juvenile delinquency and attention decit chological well-being. Personality and Individual
disorder: boys developmental trajectories from age 3 to Differences 43 (4), 637646. DOI: 10.1016/j.
age 15. Child Development 61 (3), 893910. paid.2007.01.017.
Pang T.Y. & Hannan A.J. (2013) Enhancement of cognitive Sigman M., Neumann C., Baksh M., Bwibo N. & McDonald
function in models of brain disease through environmental M.A. (1989) Relationship between nutrition and develop-
enrichment and physical activity. Neuropharmacology 64, ment in Kenyan toddlers. Journal of Pediatrics 115 (3),
515528. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.06.029. 357364.
Plaven-Sigray P., Gustavsson P., Farde L., Borg J., Stenkrona Smith P.J., Blumenthal J.A., Hoffman B.M., Cooper H.,
P., Nyberg L. et al. (2014) Dopamine D1 receptor availability Strauman T.A., Welsh-Bohmer K. et al. (2010) Aerobic exer-
is related to social behavior: a positron emission tomogra- cise and neurocognitive performance: a meta-analytic review
phy study. NeuroImage 102 (Pt 2), 590595. DOI: 10.1016/ of randomized controlled trials. Psychosomatic Medicine
j.neuroimage.2014.08.018. 72 (3), 239252.
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321
Malnutrition impairs social behavior 15 of 15
Soares R.O., Oliveira L.M., Marchini J.S., Antunes-Rodrigues Uvnas-Moberg K. (1998) Oxytocin may mediate the bene-
J., Elias L.L. & Almeida S.S. (2013) Effects of early protein ts of positive social interaction and emotions.
malnutrition and environmental stimulation on behavioral Psychoneuroendocrinology 23 (8), 819835.
and biochemical parameters in rats submitted to the elevated van Kerkhof L.W., Trezza V., Mulder T., Gao P., Voorn P. &
plus-maze test. Nutritional Neuroscience 16 (3), 104112. Vanderschuren L.J. (2014) Cellular activation in limbic
Soares R.O., Rorato R.C., Padovan D., Lachat J.J., Antunes- brain systems during social play behaviour in rats. Brain
Rodrigues J., Elias L.L. et al. (2015) Environmental enrich- Structure and Function 219 (4), 11811211.
ment reverses reduction in glucocorticoid receptor expression van Praag H., Kempermann G. & Gage F.H. (1999) Running
in the hippocampus of and improves behavioral responses of increases cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the adult
anxiety in early malnourished rats. Brain Research 1600, mouse dentate gyrus. Nature Neuroscience 2 (3), 266270.
3241. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2014.12.047. Waber D.P., Bryce C.P., Fitzmaurice G.M., Zichlin M.L.,
Spence J.D., Barnett P.A., Linden W., Ramsden V. & Taenzer McGaughy J., Girard J.M. et al. (2014) Neuropsychological
P. (1999) Lifestyle modications to prevent and control hy- outcomes at midlife following moderate to severe malnutri-
pertension: recommendations on stress management. tion in infancy. Neuropsychology 28 (4), 530540. DOI:
CMAJ 160 (9 Suppl), S46S50. 10.1037/neu0000058.
Stanton R., Happell B. & Reaburn P. (2014) The mental Walker S.P., Chang S.M., Vera-Hernndez M. & Grantham-
health benets of regular physical activity, and its role McGregor S. (2011) Early childhood stimulation benets
in preventing future depressive illness. Nursing: Re- adult competence and reduces violent behavior. Pediatrics
search & Reviews 445, 53. 127 (5), 849857.
Stathopoulou G., Powers M.B., Berry A.C., Smits J.A.J. & Weber K., Rockstroh B., Borgelt J., Awiszus B., Popov T.,
Otto M.W. (2006) Exercise interventions for mental health: Hoffmann K. et al. (2008) Stress load during childhood af-
a quantitative and qualitative review. Clinical Psychology 13 fects psychopathology in psychiatric patients. BMC Psychia-
(2), 179193. try 8 (63), 110.
Swayze V.W., Andersen A.E., Andreasen N.C., Arndt S., Sato Whatson T.S. & Smart J.L. (1978) Social behavior of rats fol-
Y. & Ziebell S. (2003) Brain tissue volume segmentation in lowing pre- and early postnatal undernutrition. Physiology
patients with anorexia nervosa before and after weight & Behavior 20 (6), 749753.
normalization. International Journal of Eating Disorders 33 WMA. WMA Declaration of HelsinkiEthical Principles
(1), 3344. for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. 2012,
Taylor C.B., Sallis J.F. & Needle R. (1985) The relation of from http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/
physical activity and exercise to mental health. Public Health Wright C.I., Williams D., Feczko E., Barret L.F., Dickerson B.
Reports 100 (2), 195202. C., Schwartz C.E. et al. (2006) Neuroanatomical correlates
Thoits P.A. (2011) Mechanisms linking social ties and support of extraversion and neuroticism. Cerebral Cortex 16 (12),
to physical and mental health. Journal of Health and Social 18091819.
Behavior 52 (2), 145161. Zhang W.Q., Smolik C.M., Barba-Escobedo P.A., Gamez M.,
Tremblay R.E. (2012) A 2-year early childhood psychosocial Sanchez J.J., Javors M.A. et al. (2015) Acute dietary trypto-
stimulation programme improves cognitive outcomes and phan manipulation differentially alters social behavior,
decreases violent behaviour at 22 years for children with brain serotonin and plasma corticosterone in three inbred
growth retardation. Evidence Based Medicine 17 (2), 4950. mouse strains. Neuropharmacology 90, 18. DOI: 10.1016/
Turner L., Linden W., van der Wal R. & Schamberger W. j.neuropharm.2014.10.024.
(1995) Stress management for patients with heart disease: Zimmermann R.R., Strobel D.A., Steere P. & Geist C.R.
a pilot study. Heart & Lung 24 (2), 145153. (1975) Behavior and malnutrition in the rhesus monkey. In:
Umberson D. (2010) Social relationships and health behav- Primate Behavior: Developments in Field and Laboratory
ior across life course. Annual Review of Sociology 36, Research (ed. L. Rosenblum), Vol. 4, pp 241306. Academic
139157. Press: New York.
2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Maternal & Child Nutrition (2017), 13, e12321