A microbiota-directed complementary food intervention in 12-18-month-old Bangladeshi children improves linear growth.

Background: Globally, stunting affects ∼150 million children under five, while wasting affects nearly 50 million. Current interventions have had limited effectiveness in ameliorating long-term sequelae of undernutrition including stunting, cognitive deficits and immune dysfunction. Disrupted development of the gut microbiota has been linked to the pathogenesis of undernutrition, providing potentially new treatment approaches.