The main consequence of malnutrition is the reduction of physical growth and lower intellectual performance in children, this occurs because extreme thinness ends up reducing the size that a child could reach in adulthood and hinders learning, memory and reasoning.
Malnutrition is due to a chronic lack of calories and nutrients in the body, which may be due to lack of food or inability to eat properly, such as serious diseases such as cancer.
Thus, its main consequences are
In addition, in the most severe cases, malnutrition can lead to death.
The main risk group for malnutrition is infants, especially when the mother does not properly breastfeed her child or when the baby does not consume enough milk for her age, and children up to age 5, when she is totally dependent on care. adults for feeding.
In addition, the elderly and people with anorexia or other serious illnesses, such as cancer and heart failure, are also more likely to suffer from malnutrition, as they generally cannot consume the necessary amount of food per day.
The treatment of malnutrition is done with the support of the doctor and nutritionist and varies depending on the cause of the problem, since the solution is not always to eat in greater quantity. For people with anorexia, for example, medical and psychological. Follow-up is also needed to resolve the eating disorder that causes thinness.
In the case of cancer and other serious illnesses, the use of food supplements or alternative feeding options, such as the use of nasogastric tube or parenteral feeding, which is performed only in the hospital may be necessary. Learn more about treating malnutrition.