Questions and Answers

Here are a few prevalent questions that you might have about malnutrition.

What is chronic malnutrition?
Chronic Malnutrition is having a lack of calories or nutrients for an extended period of time. This lack causes physical symptoms and sicknesses that can sometimes be reversed. If a child does not receive the food that they need from birth past age two the symptoms are generally not reversible.

What population is affected most?
Children are burdened the most by this problem. They cannot provide food for themselves the way that an adult can. Their bodies are more susceptible to sickness and disease, which often leads to malnutrition. If a malnourished child makes it to adulthood they are more likely to get sick or die early of organ failure.

What happens to children who are affected by malnutrition?
A child will have many lasting affects from stunted growth to lower IQ. Development of every organ in the body is dependant on nutrients. Often the brain and nervous system do not reach their potential. This causes a lack of mental capacity and impaired social skills along with lower coordination. Their physical energy levels are low thus limiting their ability to attend school and latter work.

Is malnutrition linked to genetics like obesity is?
Malnutrition is genetic in a way, yes. Malnourished women give birth to underweight children. This is more cause and effect than genetics, but in this way it runs in families.

Which countries are most affected?
The country with the highest percentage and number of children affected is India at 47%. Sub-Saharan Africa is also a hard hit area.

How many children are affected by malnutrition in the world?
40% of the 11 million deaths of children under five are attributed to malnutrition. An additional 1.5 million deaths are attributed to improper breastfeeding. –care of UNICEF.

What micronutrients or macronutrients are most commonly lacking?
The micronutrients that are often lacking are iron, iodine and vitamin A. The macronutrient that is lacking most often is protein.

What are the best sources for these nutrients?
Both iron and protein are most readily found in meat, which is often expensive. Vitamin A is most commonly found in yellow, orange and dark green vegetables. Dark green vegetables also provide protein and iron. Iodine on the other hand is most readily available in iodized salt, seafood or plants grown in iodine rich soil.

How important is education in preventing malnutrition?
UNICEF reports that children who are born to women with no education are twice as likely to die in infancy as those who are born to mothers with even four years of education.

Does malnutrition affect women more than men?
Yes. In most developing countries boys are valued more than girls because they will be able to provide for their parents later and the girls will not.

Breastfeeding is another form of prevention.

enviornment
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. From the day a child is born nutrition is key to their ability to thrive. Breastfeeding them is one of the best ways to ensure that they can thrive. There are immense benefits for the child as well as the mother.

Here is a list of benefits for both the mother and child from womenshealth.gov
BENEFITS FOR BABY:
Breast milk is the most complete form of nutrition for infants. A mother's milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby's growth and development. Most babies find it easier to digest breast milk than they do formula.
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As a result, breastfed infants grow exactly the way they should. They tend to gain less unnecessary weight and to be leaner. This may result in being less overweight later in life.
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Premature babies do better when breastfed compared to premature babies who are fed formula.
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Breastfed babies score slightly higher on IQ tests, especially babies who were born pre-maturely.
BENEFITS FOR MOM:
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Nursing uses up extra calories, making it easier to lose the pounds of pregnancy. It also helps the uterus to get back to its original size and lessens any bleeding a woman may have after giving birth.
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Breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding (no supplementing with formula), delays the return of normal ovulation and menstrual cycles. (However, you should still talk with your doctor or nurse about birth control choices.)
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Breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and possibly the risk of hip fractures and osteoporosis after menopause.
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Breastfeeding makes your life easier. It saves time and money. You do not have to purchase, measure, and mix formula. There are no bottles to warm in the middle of the night!
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A mother can give her baby immediate satisfaction by providing her breast milk when her baby is hungry.
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Breastfeeding requires a mother to take some quiet relaxed time for herself and her baby.
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Breastfeeding can help a mother to bond with her baby. Physical contact is important to newborns and can help them feel more secure, warm and comforted.
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Breastfeeding mothers may have increased self-confidence and feelings of closeness and bonding with their infants.
BENEFITS FOR SOCIETY:
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Breastfeeding saves on health care costs. Total medical care costs for the nation are lower for fully breastfed infants than never-breastfed infants since breastfed infants typically need fewer sick care visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations.
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Breastfeeding contributes to a more productive workforce. Breastfeeding mothers miss less work, as their infants are sick less often. Employer medical costs also are lower and employee productivity is higher.
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Breastfeeding is better for our environment because there is less trash and plastic waste compared to that produced by formula cans and bottle supplies.

Square foot gardening in INDIA

There is a Jesuit priest who lives in northern India that was looking for a way to improve the self-sufficiency of his village. He was told about square foot gardening and decided to try it. In his region of India the altitude along with 6 months of monsoons had limited growth in the past. To address these problems they covered their gardens to provide a better growing environment and protect them from the beating rain.

These new methods allowed for an expansion from 2 to 22 crops and from a 6 month growing season to a 12 month growing season. Because of the space that is saved by using this new method they are growing 5 times as much in the same space and their harvest has increased by ten fold. The increased harvest has allowed the village to increase their income to 10 times. The families experienced increased nutrition, income, and standard of living.

Square foot gardening has proven to work in this village in India, why not more villages? There is an opportunity to improve the health of many. All that is needed is a little instruction and guidance.

A method of prevention.

There is a method of gardening that I have discovered that has great potential in the prevention of malnutrition. A man named Mel Bartholomew developed Square foot gardening in the US. This method was not initially intended for use in developing countries, but lends itself perfectly.

The supplies that are needed can all potentially be free accept the initial seed investment. The idea is to make a garden box out of anything that will hold soil, with some sort of barrier on the bottom. Composting yard waste among other things makes the soil. The box is divided into square foot sections and then a different crop can be planted in each square. Square foot gardening only requires one to two seeds per plant and thus allows the seeds to last much longer. Also the plants can be closer that traditionally thought. There can be up to 16 carrot plants in one square, or four stalks of corn. This method allows the space needed for a garden to be reduced by 80%. In addition, much less water is needed if each plant is watered individually.

I believe that square foot gardening can play a role in preventing malnutrition in many if not all countries.

One of the hardest hit countries is India.

As of 2008 there are 46% of children in South Asia that are malnourished, sub-Saharan Africa containes only 24%. These statistics are shocking considering all of the media that is focused on the problems in Africa.  

India contains over a billion people.  Nearly half of its children are malnourished.  The problem is more severe in the rural areas as apposed to the urban areas.  In rural areas there is limited access to many resources such as, food, water, medical care and education.  This lack of resources and attention has lead to an epidemic.

It seems to be the same story in many places, little self sufficiency, little water and little education.  Prevention seems to be the best solution, but is often the hardest and most expensive way to address problems.  

    

     

Introduction to Malnutrition in Developing Countries

Malnutrition is a medical condition caused by an insufficient diet. It most often refers to under nutrition resulting from inadequate consumption, poor absorption, or excessive loss of nutrients. An individual will experience malnutrition if the appropriate amount of, or quality nutrients are not consumed for an extended period of time. An extended period of malnutrition can result in starvation, disease, and infection.

A developing country is a country that has not yet reached standards in the areas of: democratic government, free market economy, industrialization, social programs, and human rights guaranties for their citizens.

Who is affected-Malnutrition usually affects children most often because it is harder for them to provide food for themselves.

Symptoms-The symptoms of malnutrition very widely due to the possibility of lack of a variety of nutrients, or any combination thereof. For example a lack of protein causes a swollen belly and a lack of vitamin A causes night blindness. For every nutrient there is an associated symptom or disease associated with not having enough of it.

Diagnosis-It is not as easy as with some diseases because there can be many different causes and symptoms.