EFFECTS OF MALNUTRITION AMONG CHILDREN
Malnutrition among children is common in low and middle-income families. It has dire effects on a child’s health that hinders holistic development. Families that struggle financially do not have sufficient capital to purchase enough food. That leads to a lack of proper nutrition. Malnutrition has both short term and long term effects.
First, it leads to poor performance. Children suffering from malnutrition do not perform well in class. Undernutrition affects their cognitive development, which leads to poor memory and concentration. They have to repeat grades, and some end up dropping out of school. That affects their future. Dropouts rarely get good jobs.
Secondly, they have retarded growth and weak immune system making them prone to measles, pneumonia, and meningitis. These children are also likely to suffer more from diarrhea and fever compared to healthy children. Weak immunity increases their chances of death. They have a low life expectancy.
Malnutrition causes nutrient deficiency. That reflects in diseases such as marasmus and kwashiorkor. Children with marasmus have a small body mass index compared with the length and thin arms, legs, and buttocks. It is caused by starving and lack of sufficient energy. A lack of proteins causes kwashiorkor. Lack of Vitamin C causes scurvy. Malnutrition can lead to slow wound healing and even depression. Apart from a lack of enough food, the body’s inability to absorb enough nutrients causes undernutrition.
Children also suffer from anemia due to inadequate consumption of iron. That contributes to slow cognitive and physical body development. Lack of minerals and vitamin A leads to neural tube defects and blindness. Malnutrition also burdens the health system as it has to cater to all the children with malnutrition-related illnesses. It increases the financial burden on the family as they have to pay the hospital bill.
Children who suffer malnutrition are at risk of having a disproportionate body during adulthood, developing chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, or being obese. It also interferes with their functioning and leads to lower productivity. That leads to loss of capital for the individual and even the nation. These children are likely to undergo poverty in the future.
Malnutrition is a significant health problem, particularly in developing countries and in rural areas. It leads to a high number of deaths among children. According to the World Health Organization, close to 45% of children below five years die globally due to malnutrition-related diseases.
References
Pelletier, David L., et al. “The effects of malnutrition on child mortality in developing countries.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization 73.4 (1995): 443.
Pelletier, David L. “The potentiating effects of malnutrition on child mortality: epidemiologic evidence and policy implications.” Nutrition reviews 52.12 (1994): 409-415.
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