Malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems.[11][12] Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues and form.[13] Malnutrition is not receiving the correct amount of nutrition.
"Underfeeding" redirects here. For the concept in metalworking, see Underfeeder.Malnutrition
Problems with physical or mental development; poor energy levels; hair loss; swollen legs and abdomen[1][2]
Eating a diet with too few or too many nutrients; malabsorption[3][4]
Lack of breastfeeding; gastroenteritis; pneumonia; malaria; measles; poverty; homelessness[5]
Improving agricultural practices; reducing poverty; improving sanitation; education
Improved nutrition; supplementation; ready-to-use therapeutic foods; treating the underlying cause[6][7][8]
Eating food with enough nutrients on a near daily basis
821 million undernourished / 11% of the population (2017)[9]
406,000 from nutritional deficiencies (2015)[10]
Malnutrition is a category of diseases that includes undernutrition and overnutrition.[14] Undernutrition is a lack of nutrients, which can result in stunted growth, wasting, and underweight.[15] A surplus of nutrients causes overnutrition, which can result in obesity. In some developing countries, overnutrition in the form of obesity is beginning to appear within the same communities as undernutrition.[16]
Most clinical studies use the term 'malnutrition' to refer to undernutrition. However, the use of 'malnutrition' instead of 'undernutrition' makes it impossible to distinguish between undernutrition and overnutrition, a less acknowledged form of malnutrition.[13][17] Accordingly, a 2019 report by The Lancet Commission suggested expanding the definition of malnutrition to include "all its forms, including obesity, undernutrition, and other dietary risks."[18] The World Health Organization[19] and The Lancet Commission have also identified "[t]he double burden of malnutrition", which occurs from "the coexistence of overnutrition (overweight and obesity) alongside undernutrition (stunted growth and wasting)."[20][21]
Classifying malnutrition[edit]
Definition by Gomez and Galvan[edit]
In 1956, Gómez and Galvan studied factors associated with death in a group of undernourished children in a hospital in Mexico City, Mexico. They defined three categories of malnutrition: first, second, and third degree.[65] The degree of malnutrition is calculated based on a child's body size compared to the median weight for their age.[66] The risk of death increases with increasing degrees of malnutrition.[65]
An adaptation of Gomez's original classification is still used today. While it provides a way to compare malnutrition within and between populations, this classification system has been criticized for being "arbitrary" and for not considering overweight as a form of malnutrition. Also, height alone may not be the best indicator of malnutrition; children who are born prematurely may be considered short for their age even if they have good nutrition.[67]