The early environment in which we grow up has profound, long lasting, and often irreversible consequences for us throughout our lives. Stresses due to undernutrition in early childhood can mean that in adulthood individuals are smaller, more prone to disease, and have a shorter life expectancy than those with normal diets. Disease and poor living conditions in infancy and childhood also have serious implications in adulthood. While environmental effects on human growth and development are well documented, the long term consequences due to processes taking place at the early stages of growth...