Literature Review On Malnutrition In Childhood

Literature review

Malnutrition in childhood:

Malnutrition is a serious public health problem and a pathological condition that results when a person’s diet contains inadequate amount of nutrients(1). Malnutrition refers both under nutrition and over nutrition. But in common usage the word malnutrition refers to under nutrition and protein energy malnutrition. Malnutrition is the leading cause of more than one third of all child death(2). Globally, malnutrition is the major risk factor for all common childhood illnesses, and it increases the chance of worsening the conditions (3) and increases the chance of dying too(4). The term PEM is universally accepted for under nutrition. The severe form of PEM are Marasmus, kwashiorkor and Marasmic - kwashiorkor. The term SAM combines all forms of PEM(5).

Global burden of Malnutrition:

According to recent survey most of the under nutrition children are from developing region like Africa and southern Asia(6). In Africa and south Asia, amongst the reproductive age group 27-51% of women falls under underweight category , and it is expected that about 21% of children will be underweight(7). The condition in Africa is likely due to the effect of AIDS epidemic, along with the political instability(8). Since malnutrition is associated with poverty and communicable disease, its prevalence is more among developing nations. The figure below illustrates the geographical pattern of underweight children globally.

Figure 1: Geographical