Malnutrition and its type/

Malnutrition is a condition that results from eating a diet in which one or more nutrients are either not enough or are too much such that the diet causes health problems. It may involve calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins or minerals.

Causes: 

• Lack of food: this is common among the low income group as well as those who are homeless.
• Those having difficulty eating due to painful teeth or other painful lesions of the mouth. Those with dysphagia or difficulty swallowing are also at risk of malnutrition. This could be due to a blockage in the throat or mouth or due to sores in the mouth.
• Loss of appetite. Common causes of loss of appetite include cancers, tumours, depressive illness and other mental illnesses, liver or kidney disease, chronic infections etc.
• Those with a limited knowledge about nutrition tend to follow an unhealthy diet with not enough nutrients, vitamins and minerals and are at risk of malnutrition.
• Elderly living alone, disabled persons living alone or young students living on their own often have difficulty cooking healthy balanced meals for themselves and may be at risk of malnutrition.
• The elderly (over 65 years of age are), especially those living in care facilities are at a higher risk of malnutrition. These individuals have long term illnesses that affect their appetite and ability to absorb nutrients from food and they may also have difficulty feeding themselves. In addition, there may be concomitant mental ailments like depression that affect appetite and food intake.
• Those who abuse drugs or are chronic alcoholics.
• Those with eating disorders like anorexia nervosa have difficulty maintaining adequate nutrition.
• Those with digestive illnesses like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease or malabsorption syndrome have difficulty in assimilating the nutrients from diet and may suffer from malnutrition.
• Those with diarrhea or persistent nausea or vomiting.
• Some medications tend to alter the body’s ability to absorb and break down nutrients and taking these may lead to malnutrition.

Symptoms:

• reduced appetite.
• lack of interest in food and drink.
• feeling tired all the time.
• feeling weaker.
• getting ill often and taking a long time to recover.
• wounds taking a long time to heal.
• poor concentration.
• feeling cold most of the time.

Deaths: 406,000 from nutritional deficiencies ...

Types of malnutrition: