Malnutrition

What is it?

Malnutrition is a disparity between the amount of food and other nutrients that the body needs and the amount that it is receiving. This imbalance is most frequently associated with under nutrition, the primary focus of this article, but it may also be due to over nutrition.

Before we go any further, we need to be familiar with the “Malnutrition”. Malnutrition is an important of health resulting from a deficiency, excess or imbalance of nutrients. In other words, malnutrition refers to both under nutrition and over nutrition. Under nutrition means a deficiency of lack of one or more nutrients and over nutrition mean excess of one or more nutrients. Both under nutrition and over nutrition results in till health.

Example:-

Ø  Under nutrition is vitamin A deficiency. When young children do not consume enough vitamin A-rich foods, their eyes are affected and ultimately blindness results.

Ø  A disease that we easily relate to over nutrition is extreme overweight or obesity. When a person takes in more energy than he is able to spend on his daily activities, he accumulates fat it the body and his weight increaser. If the weight increases substantially, the person becomes obese.

What are the causes of malnutrition?

Malnutrition, the result of a lack of essential nutrients, resulting in poorer health, may be caused by a number of conditions or circumstances. In many developing countries long-term (chronic) malnutrition is widespread - simply because people do not have enough food to eat. 

Ø  Poor diet - if a person does not eat enough food, or if what they eat does not provide them with the nutrients they require for good health, they suffer from malnutrition. Poor diet may be caused by one of several different factors.

Ø  Mental health problems - some patients with mental health conditions, such as depression, may develop eating habits which lead to malnutrition. Patients with anorexia nervosa or bulimia may develop malnutrition because they are ingesting too little food.

Ø  Mobility problems - people with mobility problems may suffer from malnutrition, simply because they either cannot get out enough to buy foods, or find preparing them too arduous.

Ø  Digestive disorders and stomach conditions - some people may eat properly, but their bodies cannot absorb the nutrients they need for good health. Examples include patients with ulcerative colitis. Such patients may need to have part of the small intestine removed.

Ø  Alcoholism - an alcoholic is a person who suffers from alcoholism - the body is dependent on alcohol. Alcoholism is a chronic (long-term) disease. Individuals who suffer from alcoholism can develop gastritis, or pancreas damage.