Malnutrition

          

                                          
Malnutrition
This topic means a lot to me because of the many health concerns we encounter today. There are many young children in other countries that are losing their lives from malnutrition. There is enough food in the world to stop hunger yet there are millions of children dying from malnutrition. The worst disease caused by malnutrition is marasmus. This is a disease where growth stops, body tissues waste away, and an infant victim dies (pp.156, Berger). This disease can be prevented before the child is born, with healthy nutrition in the mother. Kwashiorkor happens after the age of one. The child’s growth slows down; the liver is damaged; the immune system is weakened; the face, legs, and abdomen swell with fluid; energy is reduced, hair becomes thin, brittle, and colorless; skin becomes blotchy (pp. 156, Berger). This disease can also be prevented and treated. Providing the protein that has been long lacked is treatment for kwashiorkor. It is very sad that these young children have to suffer from lack of food. I learned about marasmus and kwashiorkor, even though I have seen the commercials and pictures of the young children with swollen tummies, I did not know the name of the illnesses. I truly believe that no child should ever be hungry. Different parts of the world suffer more than others. Haiti is ranked at number 1 with a 53.3 precentage of malnutrition; the United States come in at number 140 with a 1.0 percentage, and Monaco is number 192 with a 0.0 percentage rate of malnutriton.
References
Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.