Maltrition

Biology Blog Post
Huang Liushu (9) 3SE

If you ask a person what Hunger and Malnutrition are, he may probably answer that hunger is a short term while malnutrition is a long term condition. However, it is not totallly correct.
Everyone feels hungry at times. Hunger is the body's signal that it needs food. Once we've eaten enough food to satisfy our bodies' needs, hunger goes away until our stomachs are empty again. In contrast, malnutrition is a condition when people lack the nutrients needed for proper health and development. Someone can be malnourished for a long or short period of time, and the condition may be mild or severe. People who are malnourished are more likely to get sick and, in severe cases, may even die.

We know that People who don't get enough food over a long time may likely be malnourished. But someone can become malnourished for reasons that have nothing to do with hunger. Even people who have plenty to eat may be malnourished if they don't eat food that provides the right nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
Some diseases and conditions, such as celiac disease (intestinal problems), cystic fibrosis and lack of rennin, prevent people from digesting or absorbing their food properly.
Besides those diseases and bad conditions, chronic hunger and malnutrition are problems that seem to be more serious. They can cause significant health problems. People who go hungry all the time are likely to be underweight, weighing significantly less than an average person of their size. Their growth may also be stunted, making them much shorter than average. They may not have enough store of energy, therefore, they may easily become fatigued. Malnutrition is a big problem even along the new generation since a research shows that in the whole World, about 27% of children younger than age 5 are underweight.
Some other Indications of malnutrition include:dizziness, poor immune function (which can hamper the body's ability to fight off infections), dry, scaly skin, swollen and bleeding gums, decaying teeth, slowed reaction times and trouble paying attention, muscle weakness, bloated stomach, osteoporosis(caused by the lack of Vitamin D and Calcium), preventable blindnessor(caused by the lack of Vitamin A), fragile bones that break easily, etc.

In addition, the most common form of malnutrition in the world is iron deficiency, which affects up to 80% of the world's population — as many as 4 to 5 billion people. Iron is found in foods like red meat, egg yolks, and fortified flour, bread, and cereal. Iron deficiency can make kids less active and less able to concentrate. Teens who are malnourished often have trouble keeping up in school.

To prevent malnutrition, we can at least try to have a variety of healthy foods and limit unhealthy snacks. We must remember, not only is over-weighting, but also maltrition a health problem.

Information taken from http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/hunger.html