Health Related Causes of
Undernutrition
Text extracted from
The World Food Problem
Leathers & Foster, 2004
http://www.lastfirst.net/images/product/R004548.jpg
Health and Nutrition
• Poor nutrition leads to
poor health
• AND
• Poor health leads to
poor nutrition
• Vicious cycle
Girl with Marasmus
in Darfur, Sudan
http://www.drfletcherinafrica.co.uk/marasmus4.jpg
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/nut/images/malnutrition_chart.gif
Infections also cause Malnutrition
• Loss of appetite
– Intolerance of food
• Cultural factors
– Substitution of less
nutritious diet when
sick
• Body loss of protein
– Used to fight
infection
http://www.sikhspectrum.com/112006/images/u2.gif
Disease and dietary deficiencies
• Keratomalacia: Blindness
– Vitamin A deficiency
• Scurvy: Soft gums
– Vitamin C deficiency
• Beri-beri: Nerve inflamation
– Vitamin B1 deficiency
• Pellagra: Skin disorder
– Niacin deficiency
• Anemia: Blood disorder
Pellagra
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/images/ency/fullsize/18103.jpg
– Iron, B12 deficiency
Diarrhea and Nutrition
• Diarrhea most common
infection causing
undernutrion
– Kwashiorkor induced by
diarrhea
• Worst in children under 5
• Diarrhea reduces
– Water
– Salts
• Fatal if dehydration > 15%
– 60-70% diarrhea deaths
caused by dehydration
http://www.ghi.com/WebMD/topics/diarrhea.jpg
Causes of Diarrhea
•
•
•
•
•
•
http://203.190.254.12/picture/HSB41_Ban_03.jpg
http://203.190.254.12/picture/HSB41_Ban_03.jpg
Rotavirus
Cholera
Shigella
Samonella
Parasites
Etc.
Rotavirus Diarrhea
http://www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_160/Projects2004/rotavirus/Images/globaldistribution.jpg
Oral Rehydration Therapy
• Diarrheal salt loss
cannot be corrected by
drinking salt water
– More fluid pulled from
body into intestine
• If add sugar to salt,
Signs of dehydration
http://www.wikieducator.org/images/6/61/Signsdehydration.jpg
– sugar crosses intestinal
lining
– pulls salt into body
Oral Rehydration Therapy
• “The cheapest and
most effective health
intervention that can
be implemented in the
home to decrease
childhood mortality”
Diluted salt water with sugar
http://ec.europa.eu/research/headlines/images2/cholera_rehydrate.jpg
– UNICEF
Malnutrition Exacerbates
Infection
• Philippine children with
respiratory infection were
13x more likely to die
– if malnourished
• Malnutrition aggravates
Philippine Children
http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/images/2007/05/15/main_riverside_children203_203x152.jpg
– Intestinal diseases
– Worms
– Parasites
Malnutition Exacerbates
Infection
• Malnutrition most
common cause of immune
system deficiencies
– Decreases in
• white cell response
• Interferon
• skin integrity
• Mucous membranes
• Tissue replacement, repair
• Children with PEM
White blood cell surrounded
by red blood cells
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/cancerkillers/images/cells.jpg
– Atrophied thymus
– poor T cell production
Malnutrition reduces Stamina
• Reduced capacity to
cope with life
• Reduced job
performance
• Reduced income for
Uganda Health Clinic
http://www.doctorsforafrica.org/images/mulanda_health_centre.jpg
– Healthcare
– Transportation to
clinics
– Medicines