Malnourishment & Hunger
If you're raising a picky eater, you might worry that your child isn't getting the nutrients necessary for proper growth and development. But you probably don't need to worry unless your doctor tells you that your child isn't growing at the normal rate for that age range. Over time, most finicky eaters do get enough calories and nutrients to meet their needs.
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What Are Hunger and Malnutrition?
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.
Malnutrition is not the same thing as hunger, although they often go together. People who are chronically malnourished 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, might even die.
Chronic hunger and malnutrition 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. If malnourished as a child, their growth may also be stunted, making them much shorter than average.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition refers to getting too little or too much of certain nutrients. It can lead to serious health issues, including stunted growth, eye problems, diabetes, and heart disease. Malnutrition affects billions of people worldwide.
Globally in 2020, 149 million children under 5 were estimated to be stunted (too short for age), 45 million were estimated to be wasted (too thin for height), and 38.9 million were overweight or obese.
Around 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to under-nutrition. These mostly occur in low and middle-income countries. At the same time, in these same countries, rates of childhood obesity are rising.
The types of malnutrition include:
Undernutrition: This type of malnutrition results from insufficient protein, calories or micronutrients. It leads to low weight-for-height (wasting), height-for-age (stunting) and weight-for-age (underweight). Undernourished people often lack vitamins and minerals, especially iron, zinc, vitamin A and iodine.
Overnutrition: Overconsumption of certain nutrients, such as protein, calories or fat, can also lead to Malnutrition. This usually results in being overweight or obese. Micronutrient deficiencies can also occur with overnutrition.
Overnutrition
The main signs of overnutrition are overweight and obesity, which can also lead to nutrient deficiencies.
Research conducted by the World Health Organization shows that people who are overweight or obese are more likely to have inadequate intakes and low blood levels of specific vitamins and minerals compared to those who are at a normal weight.
This is likely because overweight and obesity can result from overconsumption of fast and processed foods that are high in calories and fat but low in other nutrients.