If untreated, malnutrition can lead to mental or physical disability, illness, and possibly death.
This makes undernourished people highly prone to illness and infection and slower to recover. Wounds take longer to heal. Cardiac activity also slows down, leading to low heart rate, low blood pressure and low body temperature. People may feel faint, weak and apathetic about life.
Malnutrition can cause permanent, widespread damage to a child's growth, development and well-being.
School-age children who suffered from early childhood malnutrition have generally been found to have poorer IQ levels, cognitive function, school achievement and greater behavioral problems than matched controls and, to a lesser extent, siblings. The disadvantages last at least until adolescence.
tiredness or low energy levels. reduced ability to perform everyday tasks like showering, getting dressed or cooking. reduced muscle strength – for example, not being able to walk as far or as fast as usual. changes in mood which might cause feelings of lethargy and depression.
Malnutrition is a serious condition that happens when your diet does not contain the right amount of nutrients. It means "poor nutrition" and can refer to: undernutrition – not getting enough nutrients. overnutrition – getting more nutrients than needed.
Results. The median recovery duration was 5 months (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4–5 months), and the nutritional recovery rate was 64.64% (95% CI = 60.2–68.9).
Estimates indicate that starving people become weak in 30 to 50 days and die in 43 to 70 days. Individual factors including sex, age, starting weight, and water intake all play a role in how long someone can live without food. The body works to fight starvation by producing glucose and breaking down fatty tissue.
Severe acute malnutrition is when a person is extremely thin and at risk of dying. They need immediate treatment.
Malnutrition is when a person's diet does not provide enough nutrients or the right balance for optimal health. Symptoms vary but often involve weight loss, reduced appetite, tiredness, and irritability.
When noticing signs of severe malnutrition, parents need to immediately take the child to the hospital for treatment. If this situation is prolonged, the child will appear complications such as: hypoglycemia, electrolyte disturbances, brain damage, even death due to infection.
During the first 2 years after birth, nutritional requirements to support rapid growth and development are very high and thus adverse factors have a greater potential for causing growth retardation in early life.
Treatment for malnutrition depends on the underlying cause and how malnourished a person is. You may be treated at home or in a care home by a dietitian or other healthcare professional. In some cases, you might need to go into hospital.
There are 4 broad sub-forms of undernutrition: wasting, stunting, underweight, and deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. Undernutrition makes children in particular much more vulnerable to disease and death. Low weight-for-height is known as wasting.
Dietary changes and supplements
having a healthier, more balanced diet. eating "fortified" foods that contain extra nutrients. snacking between meals. having drinks that contain lots of calories.
BRAIN: Nutrient deficiencies may speed up the rate at which your brain loses neurons, which can impair your speech, coordination, and memory.
The most helpful laboratory studies in assessing malnutrition in a child are hematological studies and laboratory studies evaluating protein status: Hematological studies should include a CBC count with RBC indices and a peripheral smear.
Symptoms. Malnourished children may be short for their age, thin or bloated, listless and have weakened immune systems. Nutritional disorders can affect any system in the body and the senses of sight, taste and smell. They may also produce anxiety, changes in mood and other psychiatric symptoms.
If insufficient nutrients are consumed, a change in mood and energy levels will occur and a negative cycle will ensue. Other psychological causes can include eating disorders, substance addiction and dementia.