The state of malnutrition occurs when the body cells lack nutrients. This mainly happens for two reasons: 1) a lack of proteins, calories, vitamins and minerals, and 2) frequent infectious diseases.
On the one hand, diseases such as diarrhea, measles, malaria and respiratory viral diseases extremely exhaust the body and deprive its nutrients. The patient has a worsening appetite, he eats less. On the other hand, a child who is malnutrum is more painful. As a result, a vicious circle is formed. So, protein-calorie deficiency is called to an even larger number of deaths.
Why is malnutrition more dangerous for children? The fact is that they grow quickly, so the body requires many calories and proteins. Of these reasons, pregnant women and those who breastfeed.
Often the child suffers before birth. If the expectant mother is unsatisfactorily eats before and during pregnancy, the newborn will weigh, very little. Therefore, premature excommunication from the chest, improper nutrition and lack of hygiene lead to malnutrition.
Due to the lack of necessary nutrients, the child cannot grow and develop normally. He cries a lot and is constantly sick. When its condition worsens, the weight decreases, the eyes and fontanel are sneaked, the skin and other body tissues lose their elasticity, thermoregulation is disturbed.
Non -derivation has other forms. They lead to a slowdown in growth. This, for example, is a lack of minerals, before iron, iodine and zinc, as well as vitamins, especially vitamin A. The UN Children’s Fund reports that approximately 100 million young children around the world suffer from a lack of vitamin A, in fact, such a shortage is often the cause of blindness. Due to the lack of this vitamin in children, immunity is weakened, that is, the body’s resistance to infectious diseases decreases.
Long -term consequences
Malnutrition destroys the human body. Especially in children, all organs and systems suffer, including heart, kidneys, intestines, stomach, lungs and brain.
Various studies have shown that the lag in the growth of the child is accompanied by a deterioration in mental abilities and poor academic performance in school. In the UN report, the deterioration of mental abilities is called the «serious long -term consequence of the malnutrition».
If a person has a poor food in childhood, he will feel the consequences of this all his life. That is why one document of UNICEF with bitterness is noted: “The deterioration of mental abilities in such a huge number of people for reasons that can almost completely be eliminated — simply squandering, moreover, criminal squandering”.
So, long -term consequences of starvation cause great concern. Recent studies associate constant malnutrition in childhood with a tendency to such chronic diseases in adulthood as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.
However, according to the Information of the UNICEF, severe malnutrition is not the largest problem: “More than three quarters of deaths caused by malnutrition are not associated with severe malnutrition, but with its light and average forms”. Children suffering from mild or medium -sized malnutrition will face the consequences of this in adulthood. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to determine the symptoms of malnutrition in children and timely identify their proper assistance.
