Childhood undernutrition contributes to up to 45% of deaths in children under age 5. Moringa oleifera (moringa) leaves are nutrient dense and promote breastmilk production. We performed a systematic review assessing the impact of moringa leaf supplementation in humans and animals on the outcomes of iron, vitamin A status, the measures of growth, and/or breastmilk production. Our inclusion/exclusion criteria were as follows; inclusion: quantitative primary data assessing the effect of moringa leaf supplementation on humans or animals including any of the outcomes defined earlier with no exclusion for geography, age, or language. Exclusion: full text not available. Our search yielded 148 unique studies; among them, 33 were included (seven human studies and 26 animal studies). Quality assessment by Effective Public Health Practice Project guidelines was strong for one study and moderate for all other studies. In humans, moringa at higher (14-30 g/day) not lower (<10 g/day) doses improved hemoglobin (Hgb) in children with iron deficiency anemia, improved Hgb and vitamin A status in postmenopausal women, and increased BMI in HIV+ underweight adults. Moringa (0.5 g/day) also increased breastmilk volumes. In animals, moringa increased milk production in two of three studies, inconsistently affected growth, and had no effect on iron status. Evidence on moringa supplementation's utility is limited but promising. Larger, more rigorous trials are needed to characterize its impact.

Objectives We aimed to quantify the burden of cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF) in South American children. Methods We included primary quantitative white and gray literature in any language reporting after 1999 on the prevalence of glucose intolerance, obesity, hypertension and/or dyslipidemia in South Americans aged 2–21 years old. Studies were excluded for lack of available data, population with additional comorbidity, and/or CMRF criteria not defined. We searched PubMed, the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, and Google Scholar and performed reference handsearching. We assigned data quality via Effective Public Healthcare Panacea Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies modified for selection bias and data collection. We analyzed CMRF by available sociodemographic variables. Results Included studies (68 of 1,179; n = 115,674 children aged 2–19 years) came from 8 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela). CMRF definitions ranged widely. By any definition, 33.41% (n = 4,480/13,408) had low HDL cholesterol, 25.33% (n = 3,396/13,408) had elevated triglycerides, 13.92% (n = 2,900/20,830) had elevated waist circumference, 10.38% (n = 3,909/37,646) were obese by any definition, 10.49% (n = 858/9,672) had elevated blood pressure (BP), and 5.62% (n = 1,015/15,270) had glucose intolerance. By International Diabetes Federation definitions, 33.39% (n = 3,495/10,466) had HDL ≤ 40 mg/dL (16/22 studies); 23.45% (n = 909/3,876) had triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL (6/22 studies); 8.84% (n = 1,373/15,533) had waist circumference ≥ 90% for age, gender and height (20/30 studies); 6.10% (n = 733/12,010) had fasting glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL (17/21 studies) and 14.04% (n = 404/2,877) had systolic BP ≥ 130 mmHg (4/4 studies). CMRF varied by country, study setting (rural, urban or mixed), and indigenous population. Overall, Brazil had the highest prevalence of glucose intolerance and elevated BP; Chile had the highest prevalence of obesity and low HDL. Obesity was more prevalent in rural settings (7/65 studies); urban settings (19/28) had increased dyslipidemia. Conclusions South American children experience a high prevalence of CMRF and need further characterization of the sociomedical determinants of their risk. Funding Sources None.