Esteban Puentes, Fan Wang, Jere R. Behrman, Flavio Cunha, John Hoddinott, John A. Maluccio, Linda S. Adair, Judith B. Borja, Reynaldo Martorell, Aryeh D. Stein
We examine effects of protein and energy intakes on height and weight growth for children between 6 and 24 months old in Guatemala and the Philippines. Using instrumental variables to control for endogeneity and estimating multiple specifications, we find that protein intake plays an important and positive role in height and weight growth in the 6-24 month period. Energy from other macronutrients, however, does not have a robust relation with these two anthropometric measures. Our estimates indicate that in contexts with substantial child undernutrition, increases in protein-rich food intake in the first 24 months can have important growth effects, which previous studies indicate are related significantly to a range of outcomes over the life cycle. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Department of Economics, Universidad de Chile, Diagonal Paraguay 257, of 1501, 8330015, Chile; Department of Economics, University of Houston, United States; Departments of Economics and Sociology, Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, United States; Department of Economics, Rice University, United States; Division of Nutritional Sciences, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, International Food Policy Research Institute, United States; Department of Economics, Middlebury College, United States; Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, United States; USC-Office of Population Studies Foundation, Inc and Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of San Carlos, Cebu, Philippines; Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, United States
