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Undernutrition begins early in life and has lifelong consequences. The cost of undernutrition both for the individual and the economy are substantial. Analyzing data from an Indian cohort, the New Delhi Birth Cohort, formed between 1969 and 1972, this paper provides evidence on the associations between attained human capital in the third and fourth decade of life and measures of growth from birth to adulthood. For the purpose of this paper, attained human capital is defined through three metrics: educational status, male occupation, and material possession score. Growth measures (height, weight, body mass index (BMI)) during five age intervals (0 to 6 months, 6 to 24 months, 2 to 5 years, 5 to 11 years, and 11 years to adulthood) were related to human capital metrics using multivariate regression models. Sensitivity analyses were also performed to assess the stability of associations. All three human capital metrics had a significant positive association with birth size and measures of physical growth in children under-five years of age, in particular for children under two years. Length at birth and height gain from 6 to 24 months were consistently associated with all metrics. Faster weight and BMI gain from five years onward significantly predicted material possession scores. Among socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics at birth, maternal and paternal education, and paternal occupation also had a consistent positive association with all three human capital metrics. The findings reinforce the focus on interventions during the first 1,000 days of life to promote larger birth size and linear growth and suggest an additional window of opportunity between 2 to 5 years to improve human capital. The benefits can be enhanced by simultaneous investments in parental (especially maternal) literacy, livelihoods, safe water supply and sanitation, access to health care, and enhancing incomes. These interventions also have a nutrition-sensitive effect to promote early life growth.

Health Indicators --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Human Capital --- Nutrition --- Stunting

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"The World Happiness Report reflects a worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and well-being as criteria for government policy. It reviews the state of happiness in the world today and shows how the science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness. Life evaluations from the Gallup World Poll provide the basis for the annual happiness rankings. They are based on answers to the main life evaluation question. The Cantril Ladder asks respondents to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10 and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale. The rankings are from nationally representative samples over three years. We use observed data on the six variables and estimates of their associations with life evaluations to explain the variation across countries. They include GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption. Our happiness rankings are not based on any index of these six factors – the scores are instead based on individuals’ own assessments of their lives, in particular, their answers to the single-item Cantril ladder life-evaluation question, much as epidemiologists estimate the extent to which life expectancy is affected by factors such as smoking, exercise, and diet. The World Happiness Report and much of the growing international interest in happiness exist thanks to Bhutan. They sponsored Resolution 65/309, “Happiness: Towards a holistic approach to development,” adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 19 July 2011, inviting national governments to “give more importance to happiness and well-being in determining how to achieve and measure social and economic development.” On 2 April 2012, chaired by Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley and Jeffrey D. Sachs, the first World Happiness Report was presented to review evidence from the emerging science of happiness for the ‘Defining a New Economic Paradigm: The Report of the High-Level Meeting on Well-being and Happiness.’ On 28 June 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/281, proclaiming the 20 March International Day of Happiness to be observed annually. The World Happiness Report is released annually around March 20th as part of the International Day of Happiness celebration. From 2024, the World Happiness Report is a publication of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, UK. Research support is provided from the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University; the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and Political Science; the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia; and the Helping and Happiness Lab at Simon Fraser University."--from publisher's website.

Social psychology --- Health indicators --- Mental health --- Happiness --- United Nations --- Resolutions. --- International Day of Happiness (March 20)

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Using official COVID-19 death counts for 64 countries and excess death estimates for 41 countries, this paper finds a higher share of pandemic-related deaths in 2020 were at younger ages in middle-income countries compared to high-income countries. People under age 65 constituted on average (1) 11 percent of both official deaths and excess deaths in high-income countries, (2) 40 percent of official deaths and 37 percent of excess deaths in upper-middle-income countries, and (3) 54 percent of official deaths in lower-middle-income countries. These contrasting profiles are due only in part to differences in population age structure. Both COVID-19 and excess death age-mortality curves are flatter in countries with lower incomes. This is a result of some combination of variation in age patterns of infection rates and infection fatality rates. In countries with very low death rates, excess mortality is substantially negative at older ages, suggesting that pandemic-related precautions have lowered non-COVID-19 deaths. Additionally, the United States has a younger distribution of deaths than countries with similar levels of income.

Coronavirus --- COVID-19 --- Disease Control and Prevention --- Excess Mortality --- Health Indicators --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Pandemic Impact

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Health status indicators --- Health indicators --- Health status indexes --- Indexes, Health status --- Indicators, Health status --- Health --- Health surveys --- Medical statistics --- Public health --- Quality of life --- Social indicators --- Methodology

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A greater share of reported COVID-19 deaths occur at younger ages in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared to high-income countries (HICs). Based on data from 26 countries, people age 70 and older constitute 37 percent of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in LMICs on average, versus 87 percent in HICs. Only part of this difference is accounted for by differences in population age structure. In this paper, COVID-19 mortality rates are calculated for each age group by dividing the number of COVID-19 deaths by the underlying population. The resulting age-mortality curves are flatter in countries with lower incomes. In HICs, the COVID-19 mortality rate for those ages 70-79 is 12.6 times the rate for those ages 50-59. In LMICs, that ratio is just 3.5. With each year of age, the age-specific mortality rate increases by an average of 12.6 percent in HICs versus 7.1 percent in LMICs. This pattern holds overall and separately for men's and women's mortality rates. It reflects some combination of variation across countries in age patterns of infection rates, fatality rates among those infected, and under-attribution of deaths to COVID-19. The findings highlight that experiences with COVID-19 in wealthy countries may not be generalizable to developing countries.

Coronavirus --- COVID-19 --- Disease Control and Prevention --- Health and Poverty --- Health Indicators --- Health Monitoring and Evaluation --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Mortality --- Pandemic Impact --- Public Health Promotion