This is the first randomized, controlled trial with a meat-supplemented dietary intervention to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between meat and milk consumption and important functional outcomes in children: improved cognitive function; increased levels of physical activity; increased initiative and leadership behavior; and increased metabolic activity (MAMA). Milk supplementation resulted in improved linear growth in younger and already stunted children. Compared to the control group, all groups receiving supplementation improved overall weight gain, suggesting a chronic energy deficit and insufficient energy intake for any catch-up growth. Improved cognitive function and increased physical activity and leadership and initiative behaviors in the meat-eating group may be linked to higher vitamin B-12 intake and greater iron and zinc availability as a result of the presence of meat, which increases iron and zinc absorption from fiber and phytate-rich staple plant foods (2,22). Meat, due to its content of micronutrients and other components, as well as high-quality protein, may facilitate certain mechanisms, such as information processing speed, that are involved in learning tasks such as problem-solving ability, as reflected in the significant increase in RPM scores in the meat group. The dairy group scored the lowest on the RPM test. A possible explanation is that milk, with its high casein and calcium content, hinders iron absorption - iron is closely related to cognitive functions (6). The increase in MAMA in the meat group may be due to the intake of zinc and complete protein, both of which promote protein synthesis (23, 24, 25), as well as iron and protein, both of which are required for myoglobin synthesis in striated muscle (7, 26).