Contest: Malnutrition In Children || by; v-brainer

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Malnutrition is a topic that shouldn't be ignored and for a while, i have been longing to share my view on it and bring to people's knowledge about the danger and problems it causes in the society, as well as how much it has eaten deep into the lives of so many especially in developing countries. All thanks to the admin @suboohi for bringing up such a wonderful topic for a contest writing, please ride with me as i dive into the topic proper. I am v-brainer, greetings to you all and welcome to my blog once again.

What Is Malnutrition

Malnutrition is said to be the lack of nutrient intake or an excessive nutrient intake in the body of the person in question considered to be malnourished, it is caused by either poor diet, digestive disorder, diseases among other cause. Some of the symptoms include; dizziness, weight loss, fatigue, mental disorder, etc.

Malnutrition is really bad especially to growing children, there are series of problems children can face as a result of malnutrition, some of these problems which;

• Kwashiorkor
• Marasmus
• Mental Disorder/Psychosocial Effect
• Stunted Growth
• Low immunity

Kwashiorkor

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Kwashiorkor is a kind of malnutrition characterized by a very severe protein deficiency. It causes swollen, distended abdomen and fluid retention. Kwashiorkor mostly affects children, especially in developing countries with food insecurity problems and high levels of poverty. People with kwashiorkor may also have enough food to eat, but not enough protein in it.

Marasmus

Marasmus unlike kwashiorkor that is a deficiency in protein, it is the deficiency of all macronutrients that is; carbohydrates, fats, and protein. A child that is affected by marasmus lacks the fuel that is necessary to maintain the body's normal functions. People affected with marasmus are visibly depleted, severely loose weight and emaciate. Affected hildren may be also stunted in size and experience slow development.

Mental Disorder/Psychosocial Effect

Lack of proper intake of nutrient required for the body might affect the brain, because the brain itself needs energy to function properly and so malnutrition can be a problem causing mental disorder in some children. Also Psychosocial effect is also a problem that can be caused by malnutrition, victims might be subjected to having lower self esteem, social isolation and change the way the think as a result of their looks caused by malnutrition.

Stunted Growth

Stunted growth is said to be an indication that a child has failed to reach their growth potential as a result of disease, poor health and malnutrition. A child is classified as stunted if they are too short or small for their age. This indicates that their growth and development have been hindered and this is mostly because there is lack of proper nutrient intake.

Low immunity

Vitamins like vitamin C helps in replacing tissues and heal wounds and so are other vitamins to help the body's immune system in one way or the other. Proper nutrient intake will help keep the body healthy and reduce the body's vulnerability to diseases.

There are numerous factors and causes of malnutrition, some of which are individual, societal or environmental cause but for the purpose of this contest, i will be listing a few. Malnutrition can be caused by;

• Poverty
• Social Conflict
• Illiteracy
• Family Size
• Bad Economy and Inflation Rate

Poverty

Poverty is said to be when a person or group of people lacks money or means to satisfy their basic requirements or needs. Some people lack means to provide for their self and families and as such hardly eat a healthy balanced diet. Feeding from hand to mouth has been the condition of so many in rural areas of developing countries which makes taking proper nutrient difficult and this is a major factor causing malnutrition.

Social Conflict

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Social Conflict such as; War, riots, kidnapping, Banditry, and general insecurity is also one if the major factor leading to Malnutrition. When societal conflict happens, it cause people to loose their means of livelihood and displace people from their homes making them lack what to eat and in turn causing malnutrition.

Illiteracy

There are several factors thatcontribute to food illiteracy which includes; lack of access to education about healthy eating, access to affordable healthy food, time to cook healthy meals, knowledge on how to prepare healthy meals, and also high levels of stress, which can lead to unhealthy eating habits. All these are centered around not knowing the right proportion of food and diet combinations to give required nutrient needed in the body. This is also a factor causing malnutrition.

Family Size

Family size to can be a factor as to the cause of malnutrition. Take for example, an extended or polygamous family where there are many children, the size of the family could limit proper nutrient intake in that food prepared might not be enough and one particular food might be dominant.

Bad Economy and Inflation Rate

A countries bad economy and inflation rate too is a factor that people don't mostly talk about but it is very relevant. The intake of both plant and animal protein, vegetables and fruits has reduced drastically because of increase in the price of food and things in general for some countries, this could make people lack proper nutrient intake.

Some of the ways we can prevent children from these issues are solution to some of the factors and causes listed above.

• We should stop the inter and intra society conflict which leads to displacing people, and even for the once that have already been displaced,we should try as much as possible to support them no matter how small it is.

• We should all join hands in supporting organisations that are keen on helping internally displaced persons and migrants so as to help make this world a better place for them especially the growing kids.

• Those who are experts in food nutrition should try as much as possible to educate parents on the right proportion of food and diet to give their growing children to prevent malnutrition and keep them healthy

• 'It's not about giving birth to children but taking good care of them'. To this effect, family planning is good to help us control how many mouth to feed and take care of. Most people give birth to children without having plans of how to take care of them, this is wrong

Like the saying goes; "health is wealth". This is true because when we give children the best health care dey need, they will grow up to become great, making discoveries and finding way out to make their country of origin or residence a better place.

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• Just like some countries have been doing, health care for children should be made free and readily available for them.

• Immunization programs should be established so as to immunise children in different locations of the country and to prevent them from dangerous disease

• We should in our little capacity support those in need of health services, so many children are still I'll because their parents have no money for treatment, cases like this will be brought to the
  minimal if we help out

• Nourishment and cleanliness advice should be offered to parents especially breastfeeding mother so as to know how to proper take xare of their babies.

Malnutrition is a topic that should be emphasized on so that we will all join hands in our suggestions, opinion and action to bring it to a minimum and if possible eradicate it. I urge us to try in our own capacity no matter how small to support malnourished children and trust me this world will be made a more better place.
Thank you all for reading through this post, i really appreciate. I will like to invite some of the people i look up to @ngoenyi @patjewell @sahmie and every other steemian to share their view on this Topic. Thank you once again and see you soon.