Should be obvious, but so often neglected. People are aware of dramatic famines, but often ignore the less dramatic chronic malnutrition that can permanently affect health and development.

as education has heated up as a topic -- i find the intersection of both nutrition/food and exposure to violence in childhood a fascinating topic.

The first two years of life, the period covered in the story, can include a lot breastfeeding. Babies immune systems do so much better. So, mom's nutrition needs to be covered too.

Now, if we could all agree what constitutes "good nutrition."

...especially about this and that having "too many calories", we too often forget that calories are only bad when you're fortunate enough to live in a society where an excess of calories can be a problem.

Many people in this world get sick, suffer from impaired brain development, and die very young for a simple lack of enough calories, well before they can start to worry about niceties like the nutritive quality of the meager calories available to them.