Fear, violence, inequality, and stunting in Guatemala

Background: Stunting is defined by the public health community as a length- or height-for-age Material and Methods: Stunting is common at all income levels in middle- and low-income countries. At the higher income levels, stunting is unlikely to be caused by nutrient deficiency or infectious disease. Results: In Guatemala, 17% of Discussion and Conclusion: The high level of persistent violence creates an ecology of fear, an extreme range of inequalities in Social-Economic-Political-Emotional resources, and biosocial stress that inhibits skeletal growth and causes stunting for people of all income levels.