Comprehension: Malnutrition

Topic Content:

• Title: Malnutrition
• Text: New Oxford Secondary English Course for SS2 pages 42-43

     Malnutrition has been described as a tragedy of great magnitude. WHO declares that it is an accomplice in at least half of the 10.4 million child deaths each year. Malnutrition covers a wide range of illnesses from undernourishment due to a lack of one or more nutrients such as vitamins and mineral deficiencies – to obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases.

     However, Protein-Energy Malnutrition (PEM) is by far the most lethal form of malnutrition. Malnutrition is not restricted to children. It casts long shadows in the developing world according to WHO.

      Industrialised countries are not free from the scourge of malnutrition as about 11 million people suffer from it.

     Malnutrition is caused by a deficiency in the intake of nutrients by the cells of the body and it is usually triggered by a combination of factors, an insufficient intake of proteins, calories, vitamins, and minerals and frequent infections.

     Illnesses such as diarrhoea, measles, malaria and respiratory diseases tax the body heavily and cause loss of nutrients. They reduce appetite and food intake thus contributing to malnutrition.

     Children are at a greater risk of suffering from malnutrition. This is because they are in a period of rapid growth that increases the demand for calories and proteins. For similar reasons pregnant and nursing women are easily prone to malnutrition. Frequently, the baby’s problem begins even before birth. If a mother is undernourished or malnourished before and during pregnancy, the baby will have low weight. Then early weaning, poor feeding habits and lack of hygiene can bring on malnutrition.

     Malnutrition wreaks havoc on the body particularly that of a child and various studies have shown that poor growth in a child is associated with impaired mental development and poor scholastic and intellectual performance. A report from the United Nations calls these effects the most serious long-term results of malnutrition. For children who survive malnutrition, the aftermath can linger on into adulthood.

(Source: Awake)