**Prevalence of Malnutrition**:
– Nearly one in three persons globally has at least one form of malnutrition.
– Undernutrition is more common in developing countries.
– Stunting is more prevalent in urban slums than in rural areas.
– Different studies categorize malnutrition prevalence based on age groups.
– The double burden of malnutrition refers to the coexistence of overnutrition and undernutrition.
**Impact on Children**:
– Undernutrition is highest among children under five.
– In 2021, millions of children under five were stunted, wasted, or overweight.
– Around 45% of child deaths are linked to undernutrition.
– Wasting prevalence in South Asia was reported at 16%.
– In Africa, the burden of undernutrition among under-five children is higher.
**Impact on Adults**:
– As of June 2021, 1.9 billion adults were overweight or obese.
– Globally, two billion people had iodine deficiency in 2017.
– In 2020, 900 million women and children had anemia due to iron deficiency.
– Over 3.1 billion people couldn’t afford a healthy diet in 2021.
– Elderly people and pregnant women are at higher risk of undernutrition.
**Increase in Malnutrition in 2020**:
– The world is off track to achieve zero hunger by 2030.
– Global food insecurity and hunger increased between 2011 and 2020.
– An estimated 691-783 million people faced hunger in 2022.
– 2.4 billion people were food insecure in 2022, 391 million more than in 2019.
– COVID-19 contributed to increased hunger and food insecurity.
**Types and Classifications of Malnutrition**:
– Undernourishment prevalence is higher in low-income countries.
– Malnutrition can result from protein-energy wasting or micronutrient deficiencies.
– Malnutrition classifications have been criticized for not considering overweight as a form of malnutrition and for potential limitations in assessing malnutrition in all populations.
– Gomez & Galvan’s and Waterlow’s classification systems are commonly used to categorize malnutrition.
– Malnutrition is influenced by manmade conflicts, climate changes, and economic downturns.
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues and form. Malnutrition is not receiving the correct amount of nutrition.
| Malnutrition | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Underfed child in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia, at an MSF treatment tent. | |
| Specialty | Critical care medicine |
| Symptoms | Problems with physical or mental development; poor energy levels; hair loss; swollen legs and abdomen |
| Causes | Eating a diet with too few or too many nutrients; malabsorption |
| Risk factors | Lack of breastfeeding; gastroenteritis; pneumonia; malaria; measles; poverty; homelessness |
| Prevention | Improving agricultural practices; reducing poverty; improving sanitation; education |
| Treatment | Improved nutrition; supplementation; ready-to-use therapeutic foods; treating the underlying cause |
| Frequency | 821 million undernourished / 11% of the population (2017) |
| Deaths | 406,000 from nutritional deficiencies (2015) |
Malnutrition is a category of diseases that includes undernutrition and overnutrition. Undernutrition is a lack of nutrients, which can result in stunted growth, wasting, and underweight. A surplus of nutrients causes overnutrition, which can result in obesity. In some developing countries, overnutrition in the form of obesity is beginning to appear within the same communities as undernutrition.
Most clinical studies use the term 'malnutrition' to refer to undernutrition. However, the use of 'malnutrition' instead of 'undernutrition' makes it impossible to distinguish between undernutrition and overnutrition, a less acknowledged form of malnutrition. Accordingly, a 2019 report by The Lancet Commission suggested expanding the definition of malnutrition to include "all its forms, including obesity, undernutrition, and other dietary risks." The World Health Organization and The Lancet Commission have also identified "[t]he double burden of malnutrition," which occurs from "the coexistence of overnutrition (overweight and obesity) alongside undernutrition (stunted growth and wasting)."