Pediatric
malnutrition is defined by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the
American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition as “an imbalance between
nutrient requirements and intake that results in cumulative deficits of energy,
protein or micronutrients that may negatively affect growth, development and
other relevant outcomes”. It represents a serious public health issue linked to
an increased mortality and morbidity risk and children under 5 years old have a
higher risk due to growth speed and brain development.
The
World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the annual infant mortality rate
is about 6.3 million and 42% of these takes place in the African region. Just
six causes are considered responsible of 73% of deaths in children under the
age of five: respiratory infections (19%), diarrhea (18%), malaria (8%),
pneumonia and neonatal sepsis (10%), pre-term birth (10%) and birth asphyxia
(8%). Malnutrition is obviously an additional risk for all of these conditions,
worsening the course of the infectious diseases and slowing the healing, and it
is considered the underlying cause of 53% of pediatric deaths up to 5 years. In
fact, an inadequate diet leads to weight loss, decrease of the immune response
and damage of the mucosa, allowing invasion of pathogens, which finally worsens
the overall nutritional status. In addition, these conditions lead to decreased
efficacy of vaccines and increased exposure to infectious agents. Read more...........
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