Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions in your own words. The most frightening aspect of malnutrition is that it is likely to cause permanent damage to the brain. Experiments carried out on animals suggest that brain damage due to malnutrition is irreversible. This may not be true of human beings. Nevertheless, known facts as well as results of tests conducted so far point to alarming conclusions. The human brain grows very fast. Three months before its birth, the child’s brain weighs one-fourth of the adult’s brain. In one year, the brain of a child is already 66 per cent of the weight of the adult brain. At four years the brain weighs 90 per cent and at eight the child’s brain is the size of an adult’s and there is no further increase. Quite obviously the first four years are crucial for the development of the brain. And if the child suffers from malnutrition, the damage to the brain may well be permanent.
Fortunately and thanks to the research carried out by scientists in India and abroad and systematic attempts made by the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, to analyse the causes of malnutrition in this country, one need not wait for years to solve at least some aspects of the problem.
For instance, it was found that the addition of iodine in the lake-water salt consumed in the sub-Himalayan region would go a long way to controlling goitre. Again, experiments made by the Institute reveal that inexpensive green leafy vegetables are a good alternative to eggs and butter as a rich source of Vitamin A. The Institute has also carried out considerable research into fortification of various foods. Modern bread is a case in point. But since bread is beyond the means of the poor the Institute has found some items of mass consumption which can be strengthened with certain proteins and amino acids. Fortification of common salt is considered the most promising possibility. Questions
(a) What is the most serious harm that may be caused by malnutrition in childhood?
(b) Why is good nourishment so essential during the first four years of child’s life?
(c) What suggestions have been made by the National Institute of Nutrition for controlling goitre in certain parts of India?
(d) List the other three suggestions made by the Institute for curing the ill effects of malnutrition.