The diets of children past and present

Greater than half of the world’s children are malnourished, experiencing micronutrient deficiencies, stunted growth and development, or overweight/obesity. If malnutrition occurs during the first 1,000 days of life, there will be life-long consequences. Many populations globally no longer have access to critical elements of evolutionary dietary patterns such as animal source foods or diet diversity giving rise to these problems. We describe the empirical evidence highlighting the disconnect in child dietary patterns past and present and report findings from our study in Ecuador showing the benefits of mimicking ancestral diets on early brain and bone development.