- P20 -

Guatemala is the number one country in Central America and sixth in the world in terms of malnutrition. One of every two children does not have food on the table in Guatemala. Children who suffer from malnutrition run the risk of poor brain development they can experience up to 40 less structural brain development by the age of 2 years old. Apart from the serious consequences on a persons health the economy is also affected by undernutrition because the high prevalence of this condition hinders economic development and perpetuates poverty both directly through a loss of productivity due to poor physical condition and indirectly through poor cognitive function and learning deficits International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.