Child Malnutrition:
Malnutrition is the condition that occurs in the body due to excess or insufficient intake of food compared to the requirement. Malnutrition generally occurs due to inadequate food intake in our country. Malnutrition is a major health and social problem that is preventable. About three million children die before the age of five worldwide each year, and about 45 percent of these are caused by malnutrition.
Types of Malnutrition: Malnutrition is mainly divided into two categories. Namely:
(1) Over- nutrition/ Obesity: Over- nutrition occurs due to over- nutrition or/ and less physical activity. Overnutrition increases children's future risk of death from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases.
(2) Under nutrition: Malnutrition problems occur due to insufficient food intake or / and urinary tract infection (disease). In this condition, deficiency of all kinds of nutrients occurs. Symptoms of malnutrition occur due to the deficiency of essential food components such as: meat, sugars, oils, vitamins or dietary and mineral salts.
Wasting/ Energy: Low weight for height ratio
Stunting/ Stunting: Short height for age
• Underweight/ Underweight: One less micronutrient or malnutrition in proportion to age
Major causes of malnutrition:
• Poverty
Insufficiency of food
Low birth weight
• Suffering from frequent illnesses especially infectious diseases • Lack of mother's nutritional knowledge and proper care of the child
Symptoms in children with severe acute malnutrition:
• Lean, thin body, looks old
The child is very quiet, weak and does not even have the strength to cry. The rib bones and other bones of the body are easily visible to the eye
• The skin on the hands becomes droopy Irritable mood
• The neck and clavicles are clearly visible from behind and the skin of the lower body is wrinkled and drooping.
• Severe weight loss may appear as if the skin is hanging off the entire body. Such children lose body fat and muscles and lose weight significantly compared to another healthy child of the same/ same height
. Some have swelling of the feet and other parts of the body. Bilateral Pitting Oedema
Patients with bilateral pitting edema may have the following symptoms:
• Moon face or a round face like the moon
Dermatosis: White and black patches on the skin (in severe cases)
weak
Loss of appetite
Hair changes
Very easily irritated and cries when approached
Consequences of Malnutrition:
• Physical growth and mental development of the child is disturbed
The immune system decreases, so the body gets sick quickly
• Malnourished children suffer from reduced performance in the future and long- term malnutrition can lead to serious illness or death
Need to pay attention to malnourished children: The death rate due to severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is very high (about 9 times), so it should be given extra attention to reduce the risk of death of severely acutely malnourished children.
Identify and treat moderately and severely malnourished children before they reach life- threatening conditions.
Figure: Malnutrition cycle
Malnutrition cycle
If girl children are not provided with proper food, nutrition and health care, they grow stunted and later grow up as stunted malnourished teenagers. After marriage she conceives as an underweight woman resulting in an underweight baby. If that underweight girl child is not given proper food, nutrition and health care, she will suffer from malnutrition and give birth to malnourished children after marriage, thus perpetuating the cycle of malnutrition among girls, with dire consequences. As discussed, malnutrition is a major health and social problem, which is preventable and treatable.
Ways to prevent/ remediate malnutrition:
Ensuring proper nutrition of adolescents, pregnant and lactating mothers is essential to prevent child malnutrition :
4 Ways to Prevent/ Treat Adolescent Malnutrition:
• Not married before 18 years
Late childbearing
Eat nutritious food
Taking iron folic acid tablets
Ways to prevent/ remediate malnutrition in pregnant and lactating mothers:
• Proper care of pregnant women
Eat nutritious food and rest.
"Intake of iron folic acid tablets
• Ways to prevent/ remediate child malnutrition: Nutrition:
• Give the baby only breast milk immediately after birth (within 1 hour).
• Give only breast milk to the baby from birth to full 6 months
• Start feeding family complementary foods when the child completes 6 months of age (181st day).
Breastfeeding must be continued along with family complementary foods for the child from 6 months to 2 years
Get all vaccinations on time
• Care of sick child:
During this time, the mother should give milk frequently so that she gets more milk.
Small family meals should be given frequently during the child's illness. Extra food for at least 14 days after the child's illness when his appetite increases the Amount - should be increased. He should be given extra food of various kinds.
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