Health Related Causes of Undernutrition Text extracted from The World Food Problem Leathers & Foster,

Health and Nutrition Poor nutrition leads to poor health AND Poor health leads to poor nutrition Vicious cycle Malnourished boy in Angola

Infections 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 Hepatophilic Virus

Infections 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 –Iron, B12 deficiency Scurvy

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

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, –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” –UNICEF Diluted salt water with sugar

Malnutrition Exacerbates Infection Philippine children with respiratory infection were 13x more likely to die if malnourished Malnutrition aggravates –Intestinal diseases –Worms –Parasites Philippine Children

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 –Atrophied thymus –poor T cell production White blood cell surrounded by red blood cells

Malnutrition reduces Stamina Reduced capacity to cope with life Reduced job performance Reduced income for –Healthcare –Transportation to clinics –Medicines Gambia Pharmacy