Diet As an Effective Treatment for Malnutrition Term Paper

Diet as an Effective Treatment for Malnutrition

People usually associate malnutrition with starvation and famine, which is a common occurrence among famine- and war-ridden countries usually located in the African continent. Most often, malnutrition is perceived as synonymous with hunger or improper food diet and unhealthy eating habits. These perceptions regarding malnutrition are only half-right. While it is true that malnutrition is a result of improper food diet and unhealthy eating habits, malnutrition is a health disorder not only associated with hunger, but also with overeating. Technically defined, malnutrition is a "dietary condition caused by a deficiency or excess of one or more essential nutrients in the diet" (italicized words provided for by the researcher) (Microsoft Encarta 2002). This definition means that malnutrition is a health disorder that results from either (a) excessive intake of improper food diet or (b) deficient or lack of intake of the proper food diet. Both cases, however, have one thing in common: both overnutrition (a) and undernutrition (b) develop due to improper food diet intake.

Malnutrition, as classified earlier, can be identified into two types or conditions: undernutrition or overnutrition. Undernutrition is a form of malnutrition wherein there is an undersupply of essential vitamins and minerals needed by the body, while overnutrition stems from an oversupply of certain nutrients and minerals in the body. Malnutrition is caused by various factors, which includes an individual's vulnerability to health disorders due to fragile physical health conditions and different lifestyles. The first category, wherein physical health conditions determine an individual's vulnerability to malnutrition, is aptly related to infants, children, pregnant women, and the elderly. These individuals are considered vulnerable to malnutrition because of the great demand in vitamins and minerals needed for their development (infants and children) and maintenance of good and healthy physical conditions (pregnant women and the elderly). It is imperative for children to have sufficient supply of vitamins and minerals in order to avoid malnutrition, particularly undernutrition, which can hinder the growth and development of the child.Examples of nutrients needed by children in order to promote growth and development are the following: vitamin K, iron, folic acid, vitamin C, copper, zinc, and vitamin A (Beers and Berkow 2003).

Furthermore, pregnant women and the elderly are in need of nutrients because they need to maintain a healthy physical condition for their physical states. Pregnant women are especially vulnerable to different kinds of sickness if they do not have the right amount of nutrients needed to combat certain deficiencies such as vitamin B12 deficiency and folic acid deficiency as a result of "neural tube defects." The elderly, meanwhile, need sufficient amounts of calcium and vitamin D in order to prevent the onset of osteoporosis and osteomalacia, respectively (Beers and Berkow 2003).

Symptoms related to problems of undernutrition include poor weight gain, slowing of (linear) growth, skin, nail, and hair changes, and behavioral changes (Grigsby 2002). Prevalent forms of undernutrition usually occur in children, who either develop marasmus or Kwashiorkor. These two kinds of undernutrition complications mostly affect children, especially if they suffer from a condition called protein-energy malnutrition. Marasmus develops in children who were "weaned earlier than normal," which means that a child has stopped receiving breastfed milk, resulting to a loss of important nutrients needed for the child's growth and development physically and mentally. Children suffering from marasmus often suffer from gastroenteritis and are underweight. The opposite condition happens in Kwashiorkor, wherein the child weans at a later age than normal. Kwashiorkor victims are characterized by low body weight and water retention, "which makes the face moon-shaped and the belly swollen" (Microsoft Encarta 2002).

Overnutrition, on the other hand, is the most prevalent form of malnutrition that arises from excessive intake of unhealthy foods, resulting….....