Introduction
In Nepal, malnutrition accounts for 60% of child deaths. More and more than 50,000 children die each year from malnutrition. Side effects vary from child to adult. Malnutrition is most severe in children, causing growth failure, irritability, muscle wasting, swelling of the abdomen and legs, and skin becoming dry. There are two types of protein energy malnutrition (PEM) in children, Marasmus and Kwashiorkor: .
• Marasmus is linked to weight loss and muscle wasting. Fat beneath the skin disappears and the skin appears pinched.
• Kwashiorkor causes hair to change pigment, the face begins to swell and skin is dry and contains stretch marks.
Hope is currently underway. The UNICEF and other agencies are aiding in shedding light
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When proper nutritious foods are not available, the entire family suffers.
Key Risk Factors
There are many risk factors that are associated with malnutrition, but low income, social isolation and a poor diet are among the top factors. When families do not have a high income or money is not assessable, nutritious foods are unable to be obtained. Healthier foods might not necessarily be more expensive, but with chronic diseases money gets cut from the food bill to afford medications. Cost for housing or transportation also need to be taken into consideration. Social isolation in a suburban area may play a key role in malnutrition. If nutritious foods are not consumed in an everyday diet, a poor diet occurs. Proper nutrition is needed for growth and learning.
Economic and Social Consequences
The consequences are numerous when addressing malnutrition in children. Proper nutrition is key in living an active and healthy life. When children are undernourished they have a weaker immune system and are more susceptible to illnesses and infections. A long-term lack of nutrition can cause stunting, delayed development, cognitive and motor skills, pneumonia and diarrhea. According to UNICEF, stunting in early life is linked to 0.7 grade loss in schooling, a 7-month delay in starting school and between 22-45% reduction in lifetime earnings. When children are stunted,
Malnutrition is a problem that is estimated to contribute to more than one third of death among children (WHO, 2014). Under nutrition is a form of malnutrition; it occurs when nutritional reserves are exhausted or nutritional intake is insufficient to satisfy daily needs or increased metabolic demands (Jarvis, 2013, p. 175). Prolonged periods in this state can lead to stunted growth which is associated with lower
Nutrition is essential in every stage of the human life, from infancy to adulthood. There are many factors that lead to malnutrition, which include but are not limited to poverty, infections, lack of Knowledge and little amount of food. Some people, however do not now that their child is malnourished. In a study conducted in Rural china mothers were interviewed on malnourishment and the affects it had on the development of the child. One mother stated “It doesn't matter what he eats.That does not affect his development at all”( Yue et al,2016). Another mother said “I don't think there’s a big impact of nutrition on health. Formula and porridge are good enough for my baby ’’(Yue et al,2016). However, Undernourishment on its own can bring disorders. One of them is Marasmus which is caused by a lack of food, and this disorder leads to death. Children are the most impacted by malnutrition, from birth to twelve months of age is a crucial time period because most of the brain development is occurring and malnutrition affects the development of the brain. Another affect it has is that children may fall behind enduringly, in their cognitive and psychosocial skills compared to their peers, even if they manage to physically grow the damage has been done. Extreme malnutrition can affect the child's motor skills. Undernourishment is not only due to a lack of food, but it’s also due to many other factors. The negative impacts that undernourishment can have on a child can be
Malnutrition is a common health problem and is caused by either an inadequate diet or a problem absorbing nutrients from food. There are many reasons why this might happen, including having reduced mobility, a long-term health condition or a low income. The most common symptom of under-nutrition is unplanned weight loss and other signs could be weak muscles, feeling tired all the time, low mood and an increase in illnesses or infections. The main sign of over-nutrition is being overweight or obese. However, people with under-nutrition can also be overweight if they eat a diet high in energy (calories), but low in other nutrients. Signs of malnutrition in children can include failure to grow at the expected rate and changes in behaviour such as appearing unusually irritable, sluggish or anxious
Starvation is a global concern that affects millions of children every day. It is also the top cause of death for children under the age of four, it takes the lives of more than 3.5 million children every year. Furthermore, without a treatment,
Children in need of these nutrients can suffer from stunted growth never reaching potential height. Statistics have shown stunted growth children score significantly lower on intelligence tests than do normal children. Hunger interferes with physical, emotional and academic development. According to Freedom from Hunger, “more than 4 million children will die due to hunger related causes.” NASW(2016) shows an important connection food security and nutrition play in physical and mental health.
The lack of growth and development begin to occur when the body does not take in enough calcium. Calcium is very important part for the body to function because it has the function to keep bones strong and without calcium the bones will become weak and break easily. Also, it will lead to stunted growth in the body and the person will not be able to grow properly. In addition, malnutrition can occur when children or the poor community does not get enough to eat and is requiring the need of nutritions and other minerals. Suffering from malnutrition will cause extensive amount of disease to manifest in the human body. Also, it will be harder for the body to fight off disease and people will become more vulnerable to catching different type of diseases. Pedro A Sanchez stated, “The death rate from diseases such as lower respiratory infection, malaria, and measles…Undernourished people infected with HIV/AIDS develop the full symptoms” (1). The poor population is longing for the access to healthy food in order to prevent terrible disease like this from occurring. It is very hard to treat and prevent these different variety of disease from happening without having the money to get the proper care and medical attention.
Long term effects of malnutrition can cause children and adults to have a lack of energy
Many people worldwide are susceptible to malnutrition due to food insecurity, instability, and inaccessibility. Malnutrition, or the failure to meet daily nutritional requirements, affects more than one-third of the child population in the world; also nearly 30% of the population of all ages in the developing world, considering malnutrition (commonly under nutrition) severely damaging. Malnutrition is an effect of lack of hygiene, food instability, political inconsistency, weak health care, economic fluctuation, and any other demeaning factors at the communal degree (Kumar). Malnutrition spikes a growth stunt in most children who are affected by it. It causes slowed growth, lack of development, and low immunity. Malnutrition goes hand in hand with poverty all around the world: the fact that families are living off of less than somewhere between one dollar to three means that they are more likely to meet the daily nutritional requirements (calories, vitamins, etc). In sub-Saharan Africa, malnutrition can be passed down by generation, especially if young girls end up being mothers to dangerously underweight babies that—even though they are considered alive—fail to thrive. Malnutrition can often lead to cases of micronutrient deficiency. For example, if a person
This guideline is very effective to prevent malnutrition, because it does not only focus on the preventive measure but also identifies the predominant factor for malnutrition and develop a plan according to the score from BMI, weight loss score and acute disease effect score for example: artificial nutritional support if the score is low. Furthermore, it also monitors the effectiveness of the plan. Therefore, it is comprehensive and evidence based preventive measure guidelines for
By not getting enough nutrients children tend to have cognitive problems. It is very important to eat a proper breakfast because our body needs energy to start the day. A balance diet is important for a proper nutrition for our well-being of our body and mind. Children tend to do better in school if they get a proper breakfast starting the day. In this author opinion, by not having a proper breakfast the day will be longer and stressful being that we will be thinking about what we need to eat. Nevertheless, undernutrition and over nutrition play an important role in children development. Undernutrition, affects poor developing countries because there is
Deficiencies in nutrition render debilitating consequences that are both irreversible and permanent, ultimately preventing children from attaining their full potential resulting in lowered self-esteem, poor performance in primary school, and even hinder economic progress. These effects are often intergenerational and seemingly perpetuate a paralyzing cycle of poverty that places a myriad of pressure on educational and health systems and ultimately impedes development.
Nutrition is the elements in food and drinks that are essential for the body to function, grow, and sustain a healthy life. Proper nutrition is particularly important to children and the lasting effects of inadequate or poor nutrition can be detrimental to a child’s long-term health and well-being. Nutrition plays a crucial role in the physical and mental development of children and can have a striking impact as they progress through their adolescent and adult lives. This issue paper will examine the correlation between nutrition in children and the impact it has on Health Economics. More specifically, this paper will focus on the impact of food insecurities in the United States, effects on future productivity in the workforce, effective nutritional policy, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and how this particular policy contributes to the long-run health benefit for children of low-income communities.
Once it is determined to what extent the child suffers this protein malnutrition, steps for treatment can be taken. This is mainly in the form of the introduction of a proper, well-balanced diet. It should be taken into account if the parents of the child can actually afford the food needed to treat this malnutrition or if the food is even available for them to buy where they may live. Other topics for discussion are the long term effects of Kwashiorkor on the child if it is severe enough and it should be explained that the child may not grow in height and may suffer mentally as well and the parents should be notified how to deal with this in the future to help their child. Vitamin and mineral supplements should also be distributed to help the child’s system to start to obtain the correct vitamins and minerals it needs alongside the protein.
Malnutrition contributes to undernutrition and overnutrition and is also a deficiency of nutrition. Agents that cause malnutrition are poor diet and repeated infections which is particularly in underprivileged populations. Inadequate diet and disease are linked in to your common guideline living and environmental conditions, and are linked in with meeting the primary needs such as housing, food, and health care. Malnutrition is a health outcome as well as a risk factor for diseases. There are over two billion individuals in the world that suffer from many forms of malnutrition. Malnutrition is an basic cause of death of over 2.5 million children each year. Undernutrition reports for 12 percent of the global burden of disease
With all of these child and mother health issues Timor-Leste, there is a need to have special health education groups for providing training to mothers about nutrition in Timor-Leste. Malnutrition is not only about food. To prevent and treat malnutrition effectively, you need a broad approach which also tackles other problems such as poor access to basic health services and inappropriate feeding and caring practices of children (World Food Programme, 2014).