Nutrition as the Foundation of Human Capital: Pathways to Holistic Development

Human capital is widely recognized as central to economic growth and social progress. However, commonly used development measurements often assess outcomes achieved in adolescence or adulthood. These approaches overlook the formative biological processes that shape lifelong capability. In line with this, this Perspective argues that maternal and early childhood nutrition, particularly during the first 1000 days, constitutes the critical foundation of human capital formation. During this critical window, rapid brain development, immune programming, and metabolic adaptation occur, making nutritional adequacy, quality, and diversity essential for cognitive development, executive function, and long-term productivity. Human capital development during the first 1000 days-rooted in maternal and early-life nutrition and identified as the Creation phase in this Perspective-is considered a necessary condition for investments in education and skill formation in later life stages. Despite this, widely used development measures, including the human development index (HDI), remain largely retrospective in approach and output-oriented in focus. The Perspective proposes an adjustment to the HDI by incorporating maternal, birth, child nutrition, and early developmental indicators to better capture the biological foundations of capability. This approach would create an opportunity to ensure multisectoral accountability, address intergenerational and geographic inequities, and align policy priorities with the origins of human capital and development.