The Relationship Between Stunting and Decrease in Cognitive Ability: A Literature Review

Abstrak

Chronic nutritional inadequacy causes stunting, which affects children's physical appearance and mental development, particularly in the first 1,000 days of life. This research used narrative synthesis to evaluate literature. Google Scholar was searched for 2020–2025 literature on stunting influence on cognitive development in children. Original research papers (excluding reviews) with a citation count ≥50 and first five pages of search results were considered for inclusion. Nine articles were chosen for final analysis after reviewing titles and abstracts for relevance and eligibility. The synthesis found persistent links between early-life stunting and worse memory, language, numeracy, and literacy scores. These relationships remained substantial after adjusting for environmental and socioeconomic characteristics. Stunting impairs brain development by disrupting neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and myelination owing to nutritional deficits in early growth. The data confirm that stunting affects long-term intellectual capacity as well as physical development. This review enhances scientific knowledge of neurocognitive pathways influenced by early-life undernutrition and emphasizes the need for early dietary therapies to avoid permanent brain impairment. This study highlights the need for integrated strategies that combine nutritional and cognitive stimulation interventions in child health programs, while also identifying future directions for research on evidence-based early development policies.