Explain The Cycle Of Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a medical terminology which means a condition in which the person affected is said to have dietary deficiency of essential nutrients required for the normal functioning and the development of the body. The essential nutrients include vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
Malnutrition is often associated with poverty in poor and developing countries where as in economically sound countries the malnutrition occurs because of an absence of a balance diet.
As commonly understood malnutrition not only means inadequate intake of food rather it has certain deeper things attached to it. This term can be well related to the word under nutrition which is caused by primarily due to inadequate consumption of nutrients, poor absorption of food by the body or loss of excessive nutrients. On the contrary at times malnutrition can also take place the word over nutrition that is similar to intake of one kind of nutrient only thereby resulting into deficiency of the other vital nutrients. This is more prevalent in developed countries.
There is a simple mechanism which can explain the cycle of malnutrition. Dietary insufficiency leads to inadequacy of the body to repair the tissues that are damaged. This inadequacy does not allow the body to create new cells to replenish the damaged ones. This occurs more in the small intestine which is the hub for absorption of food. The food that is absorbed is further utilized for making new cells. In the event of malnutrition poor absorption of food further damages the body's ability to replenish new cells and hence the cycle continues and deteriorates the condition. Also, one more effect of malnutrition is dark spots in the skin although it is rarely noticed.
Malnutrition affects children very badly. If the children are born malnourished they are most likely to have a poor body growth. The most common deficiencies found in children are iron, iodine and Vitamin A, and this poses a major challenge for countries. Deficiencies like these reduce the body's ability to fight diseases.
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