User:Swarna022

What is Malnutrition ?

This follows the pages about What is a Balanced Diet ? and Dietary needs at different stages of life.

The literal meaning of 'malnutrition' is 'bad nutrition', i.e. dietary intake that is not entirely appropriate for the organism (although some aspects of the diet might be appropriate, overall something is missing, something is consumed in excessive quanities or the timing and combination 'balance' of the dietary intake is not appropriate in that particular case).

Definition of Malnutrition :

Malnutrition is a state of nutrition in which a deficiency, excess or imbalance of the essential parts of a healthy diet causes measurable adverse effects on bodily tissues (e.g. re. shape, size, composition), bodily functions and hence on medical health. The above is one definition of malnutrition. Different sources e.g. dictionaries, textbooks, and organizations define it slightly differently.

Types of malnutrition

(go to Outline)

Malnutrition is a group of conditions in children and adults generally related to poor quality or insufficient quantity of nutrient intake, absorption, or utilization.

There are two major types of malnutrition:

Protein-energy malnutrition - resulting from deficiencies in any or all nutrients Micronutrient deficiency diseases - resulting from a deficiency of specific micronutrients Protein-energy malnutrition

There are three types of protein-energy malnutrition in children:

Type	Appearance	Cause Acute malnutrition	Wasting or thinness	Acute inadequate nutrition leading to rapid weight loss or failure to gain weight normally Chronic malnutrition	Stunting or shortness	Inadequate nutrition over long period of time leading to failure of linear growth Acute and chronic malnutrition	Underweight	A combination measure, therefore, it could occur as a result of wasting, stunting, or both