I would be concerned with a malnourished child's brain and organ development. I wonder if those are things as well that will catch up over time as the nutrition improves or are there important stages of growth that are being missed, which have long term negative effects.

It's sad once you know as well that we grow enough food on earth to feed every human being. Unfortunately, a large majority of that grain goes to feed livestock that can only be afforded by those not living in poverty.