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Malnutrition increases the risk of infection and infectious disease, and moderate malnutrition weakens every part of the immune system.[35] For example, it is a major risk factor in the onset of active tuberculosis.[36] Protein and energy malnutrition and deficiencies of specific micronutrients (including iron, zinc, and vitamins) increase susceptibility to infection.[35] Malnutrition affects HIV transmission by increasing the risk of transmission from mother to child and also increasing replication of the virus.[35] In communities or areas that lack access to safe drinking water, these additional health risks present a critical problem. Lower energy and impaired function of the brain also represent the downward spiral of malnutrition as victims are less able to perform the tasks they need to in order to acquire food, earn an income, or gain an education. Vitamin-deficiency-related diseases (such as scurvy and rickets). Signs__ Site Sign Face Moon face (kwashiorkor), simian facies (marasmus) Eye Dry eyes, pale conjunctiva, Bitot's spots (vitamin A), periorbital edema Mouth Angular stomatitis, cheilitis, glossitis, spongy bleeding gums (vitamin C), parotid enlargement Teeth Enamel mottling, delayed eruption Hair Dull, sparse, brittle hair, hypopigmentation, flag sign (alternating bands of light and normal color), broomstick eyelashes, alopecia Skin Loose and wrinkled (marasmus), shiny and edematous (kwashiorkor), dry, follicular hyperkeratosis, patchy hyper- and hypopigmentation, erosions, poor wound healing Nail Koilonychia, thin and soft nail plates, fissures or ridges Musculature Muscles wasting, particularly in the buttocks and thighs Skeletal Deformities usually a result of calcium, vitamin D, or vitamin C deficiencies Abdomen Distended - hepatomegaly with fatty liver, ascites may be present Cardiovascular Bradycardia, hypotension, reduced cardiac output, small vessel vasculopathy Neurologic Global development delay, loss of knee and ankle reflexes, poor memory Hematological Pallor, petechiae, bleeding diathesis Behavior Lethargic, apathetic Source: "Protein Energy Malnutrition"[27] Mortality__ Malnourished children in Niger, during the 2005 famine. According to Jean Ziegler (the United Nations special rapporteur on the Right to Food for 2000 to March 2008), mortality due to malnutrition accounted for 58 percent of the total mortality in 2006: "In the world, approximately 62 million people, all causes of death combined, die each year. One in twelve people worldwide is malnourished and according to the Save the Children 2012 report, one in four of the world’s children are chronically malnourished.[37][38] In 2006, more than 36 million died of hunger or diseases due to deficiencies in micronutrients".[39] According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is the biggest contributor to child mortality, present in half of all cases.[6] Six million children die of hunger every year.[40] Underweight births and intrauterine growth restrictions cause 2.2 million child deaths a year. Poor or non-existent breastfeeding causes another 1.4 million. Other deficiencies, such as lack of vitamin A or zinc, for example, account for 1 million. Malnutrition in the first two years is irreversible. Malnourished children grow up with worse health and lower education achievement. Their own children tend to be smaller. Malnutrition was previously seen as something that exacerbates the problems of diseases as measles, pneumonia and diarrhea. But malnutrition actually causes diseases and can be fatal in its own right.[6] Psychological__ Malnutrition in the form of iodine deficiency is "the most common preventable cause of mental impairment worldwide."[41] "Even moderate deficiency, especially in pregnant women and infants, lowers intelligence by 10 to 15 I.Q. points, shaving incalculable potential off a nation's development. The most visible and severe effects — disabling goiters, cretinism and dwarfism — affect a tiny minority, usually in mountain villages. But 16 percent of the world's people have at least mild goiter, a swollen thyroid gland in the neck."[41] Iron deficiency anemia in children under two years of age likely affects brain function acutely and probably also chronically. Folate deficiency has been linked to neural tube defects.[42] Protein-calorie malnutrition can cause cognitive impairments. For humans, "critical period varies from the final third of gestation to the first 2 years of life".[43] Nutritional supplement treatment may be appropriate for major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive compulsive disorder, the four most common mental disorders in developed countries.[44] Supplements that have been studied most for mood elevation and stabilization include eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (each of which are an omega-3 fatty acid contained in fish oil, but not in flaxseed oil), vitamin B12, folic acid, and inositol. Learning__ Improving the awareness of nutritious meal choices and establishing long-term habits of healthy eating has a positive effect on a cognitive and spatial memory capacity, potentially increasing a student's potential to process and retain academic information.[citation needed] Some organizations have begun working with teachers, policymakers, and managed food service contractors to mandate improved nutritional content and increased nutritional resources in school cafeterias from primary to university level institutions. Health and nutrition have been proven to have close links with overall educational success.[45] Better nourished children often perform significantly better in school, partly because they enter school earlier but mostly because of greater learning productivity per year of schooling.[46] There is limited research available that directly links a student's grade point average (GPA) to their overall nutritional health.[citation needed] Additional substantive data are needed to prove that overall intellectual health is closely linked to a person's diet, rather than just another correlation fallacy.[citation needed] Nutritional education is an effective and workable model in a higher education setting.[47][48] More "engaged" learning models that encompass nutrition is an idea that is picking up steam at all levels of the learning cycle.[49] |
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