A recent study presented at the Turkish Pediatrics Congress last week revealed that one in every five children under the age of five in Turkey suffers from malnutrition, the Diken news website reported.
According to the study, most children in this age group regularly consumed junk food and sugary drinks, while only 10 percent had a daily intake of nutritious foods such as dairy, meat and vegetables.
The study found that a family’s income significantly influenced the nutritional quality of food available to children.
Dr. Özgür Kasapçopur, president of the Turkish Pediatrics Institute, said children faced significant challenges due to deepening poverty in Turkey. He emphasized that nutrition in the first five years of life was not only essential for growth and development but also for building a strong immune system, supporting intellectual growth and ensuring the healthy functioning of all organs.
Dr. Fügen Çullu Çokuğraş said many children suffering from malnutrition were from regions hit by the February 6, 2023 earthquakes and that worsening economic conditions made it difficult for families to afford adequate food. Although doctors provided nutritional solutions such as milk-based supplements, families often struggled to afford them.
Healthcare experts have warned that increasing food prices and growing poverty have had a direct effect on access to nutritious food.
Recent studies have revealed that childhood poverty in Turkey is a pressing concern. Turkey ranks first among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in child and adolescent poverty, with nearly 7 million impacted.
A report by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) revealed that nearly 10 million children are living in poverty across the country, with the findings indicating that over 43 percent of youngsters aged 0-14 are in that dire situation.
Another report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) found that one-third of children in Turkey were living in poverty. With a child poverty rate of 33.8 percent, Turkey was ranked second worst after Colombia for the 2019-2021 period that the report based its data on.
Furthermore, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has warned that the rising price of food means that many low-income families have not been able to afford enough food for their children. A comparative study in 2024 by Mahir Polat, a Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker, found that the cost of essential food items that would normally be in a school lunchbox had increased by at least 42 percent since 2023.
Turkish doctors said Increasing poverty has had detrimental effects on the physical development of children.
