Malnutrition:

A term used to refer to any condition in which the body does not receive enough nutrients for proper function. Malnutrition may range from mild to severe and life-threatening. It can be a result of starvation, in which a person has an inadequate intake of calories, or it may be related to a deficiency of one particular nutrient (for example, vitamin C deficiency). Malnutrition can also occur because a person cannot properly digest or absorb nutrients from the food they consume, as may occur with certain medical conditions. Malnutrition remains a significant global problem, especially in developing countries.

Malnutrition is a state resulted from deficiency or excess supply of essential nutrients. It is the root cause of any infectious disease that occurs especially in children. It can occur at any age, but most frequently it occurs in children.

Cause of Malnutrition are as follows:

Malnutrition is the lack of appropriate amount of nutrients in food.

It is due to the following causes: -

• Lack of food: Inability to consume either required quantity of food or due to low production or lack of purchasing power, causes malnutrition.
• Lack of knowledge: Most of the people do not know about the importance of home-made food with high-quality nutritive value and they are lured to instant and expensive foods from the market. Those instant foods have low nutritive value which may cause malnutrition.

Diseases:

Various diseases like roundworm may cause malnutrition because the patient feels the loss of appetite. Indigestion also causes malnutrition because of the lack of necessary absorption of micronutrients from the food.
Improper storing: Lack of proper storing and cooking causes malnutrition because nutrients of food are destroyed with the improper storing and over cooking.

Food adulteration:

For the sake of money, shopkeeper sells the foods mixed with poor quality foods. It is adulteration. It is harmful to the health and person cannot get proper nutrition.

Types of Malnutrition:

Malnutrition can be classified into three groups on the basis of its severity. They are as follows:

• Simple malnutrition: There is no special symptom of simple malnutrition. It is justa condition of lack of weight for height. It can be detected by taking the weight.
• Median malnutrition: This type of malnutrition especially suffers the children under 5 years old. When the children continuously quarrel and get irritated, they are in median malnutrition.
• Severe malnutrition: Kwashiorkor and Marasmus are two types of malnutrition according to the severity of malnutrition.

Marasmus:

A rapid deterioration in nutritional status in a short time can lead to marasmus, one form of acute malnutrition. Marasmus is the most common form of acute malnutrition in nutritional emergencies and, in its severe form, can very quickly lead to death if untreated. It is characterized by severe wasting of fat and muscle which the body breaks down to make energy. Wasting can affect both children and adults.

Kwashiorkor:

Some children with acute protein-energy malnutrition develop oedema. Oedema is an accumulation of fluid in the tissue, especially the feet and legs. Such children may not lose weight when developing acute protein-energy malnutrition because the weight of this excess oedema fluid counterbalances the weight of lost fat and muscle tissue. These children may look fat or swollen. Such children have kwashiorkor.

Malnutrition is a state resulted from deficiency or excess supply of essential nutrients. This note has information about malnutrition, its causes, types and symptoms.

General symptoms of malnutrition:

1. Regular weeping, crying
2. Feeling irritation
3. Underweight in children
4. Wrinkled skin especially in happy and calf of leg