- As per World Health Organization (WHO), malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and nutrients.
- It is a condition that arises from inadequate intake of vital nutrients essential for optimal health, growth, and development within an individual’s diet.
- Types:
- Undernutrition:
- Wasting: Low weight-for-height is known as wasting. It occurs when a person has not had enough food to eat and/or they have had an infectious disease.
- Stunting: Low height-for-age is known as stunting. It often occurs due to insufficient calorie intake, leading to a low weight for a given height.
- Underweight: Children with low weight-for-age are known as underweight. A child who is underweight may be stunted, wasted, or both.
- Micronutrient-related Malnutrition:
- Vitamin A Deficiency: Insufficient intake of vitamin A can lead to vision impairment, weakened immunity, and other health issues.
- Iron Deficiency: Causes anaemia, impacting the body’s ability to transport oxygen, leading to fatigue and weakness.
- Iodine Deficiency: Results in thyroid-related disorders, affecting growth and cognitive development.
- Obesity: Excessive calorie intake, often coupled with a sedentary lifestyle, can lead to obesity. It is characterised by an accumulation of excess body fat, posing health risks like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
- In adults, overweight is defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or more, whereas obesity is a BMI of 30 or more.
- Diet-related Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs): It encompasses cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes, often associated with high blood pressure, primarily stemming from unhealthy diets and inadequate nutrition.
- Undernutrition:
- Global Prevalence:
- Globally in 2022, 149 million children under 5 were estimated to be stunted (too short for age), 45 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for height), and 37 million were overweight or obese.
- Nearly half of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition.
- 1.9 billion adults are overweight or obese, while 462 million are underweight.
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