Meaning of Malnutrition (What is it, Concept and Definition)

What is malnutrition:

Malnutrition is a disease that is the product of an inadequate diet , which does not allow the absorption of the nutrients necessary to maintain the body's balance , this happens when food is not ingested and the lack of consumption of these causes a person's body to spend more caloric energy than it consumes.

There are many symptoms suffered by people who are undernourished , but among the most prominent we can mention: fatigue, dizziness and weight loss, in addition to these other very delicate symptoms that can lead to the death of a person.

The Malnutrition is a disease due to the lack of fuel and protein consumption necessary for an organism to function properly, this disease is associated with the death of infants and children in developing countries.

It is one of the most common diseases that exist and is very li due to the lack of resources needed to buy and consume the necessary food to have a proper and balanced diet that allows the body to function properly.

See also Nutrition.

Malnutrition and malnutrition

The term malnutrition is often confused with the term malnutrition, however, they are not the same, the word malnutrition refers to the lack of intake of food, therefore, lack of calories and proteins, while malnutrition is associated with deficiency, excess or imbalance in the intake of one or more nutrients required by the body.

Causes of malnutrition

The main and most common cause is lack of food intake, which leads to the body spending more energy from the food it consumes, however, there are environmental, social and political circumstances that can affect the malnutrition of a person, as well as medical pathologies that produce non-absorption, or poor absorption of the necessary nutrients.

In the first group we can mention famines, wars, armed conflicts, population displacements, droughts, pests, as well as, the most relevant of all, poverty, as can be observed specifically in African countries, except South Africa, and developing countries in Latin America.

Within the second we find anorexia, bulimia , celiac disease, depression, gastrointestinal problems.Malnutrition can conclude in two diseases: the first is kwashiorkor, which is caused by insufficient protein in the diet and the second marasmus, which generates an exaggerated weakness due to the total consumption of Calories in the diet.

Malnutrition can occur even in the gestation of the fetus which can complicate the normal development of pregnancy, and that can cause the baby to be born with very low weight, be a sickly child, very prone to infections, weak and with problems of intellectual development and learning.

Consequences of malnutrition

Malnutrition can lead to several health problems, among which we can name, the condition of the heart of the person, since it loses muscles which causes it to have weak beats generating heart failure that can cause death.

It affects the system immune, it makes it weak and makes it prone to the person to suffer from many diseases, as well as infections, due to the lack of white blood cells in the organism due to the lack of food intake, which makes the person sickly and that diseases are difficult to cure, as well as it affects the healing since it makes it much slower.

The person may suffer problems for learning, retention of memory and proper intellectual development In the same way you can generate a square or anemic in the person, which directly affects the blood of the person.

Prevention of malnutrition

The easiest way to prevent malnutrition is through adequate consumption of food and calories that generate nutrients and energy needed by the body and the body for proper functioning and development.It is important to maintain a proper and balanced diet that allows you to provide everything that the body needs, both calories , energy and fat to prevent malnutrition.

In pregnant women it is important to eat all the necessary nutrients, be well fed, as well as the intake of additional vitamins that can be absorbed by the baby.

Babies, children and adolescents should be well fed, as well as enjoy the service of a pediatrician who monitors growth values, specifically height and weight, to verify that growth is at normal levels for their Age.All this must be accompanied by the consumption of milk in the youngest and improve their diet and diet depending on their age.

Maintain an adequate, balanced diet and in some cases a healthy diet, makes the The body achieves a body balance that improves people's quality of life and prevents problems and diseases such as malnutrition.