Learn About Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition that occurs when your body does not get enough nutrients.
Nutrition - inadequate
There are many types of malnutrition, and they have different causes. Some causes include:
- Poor diet
- Starvation due to food not being available
- Eating disorders
- Problems with digesting food or absorbing nutrients from food (malabsorption)
- Certain medical conditions that make a person unable to eat
You may develop malnutrition if you lack a single vitamin in your diet. Lacking a vitamin or other nutrient is called a deficiency.
Sometimes malnutrition is very mild and causes no symptoms. Other times it can be so severe that the damage it does to the body is permanent, even though you survive.
Poverty, natural disasters, political problems, and war can all contribute to malnutrition and starvation, and not just in developing countries.
Some health conditions that are related to malnutrition are:
- Malabsorption
- Hunger
- Beriberi
- Binge eating
- Deficiency - Vitamin A
- Deficiency - Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
- Deficiency - Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
- Deficiency - Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
- Deficiency - Vitamin B9 (folacin)
- Deficiency - Vitamin E
- Deficiency - Vitamin K
- Eating disorders (bulimia and anorexia)
- Kwashiorkor
- Megaloblastic anemia
- Pellagra
- Rickets
- Scurvy
- Spina bifida
Malnutrition is a significant problem all over the world, especially among children. It is very harmful to children because it affects brain development and other growth. Children who suffer from malnutrition may have lifelong problems.
Symptoms of malnutrition vary and depend on its cause. General symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, and weight loss.
Treatment most often consists of:
- Replacing missing nutrients
- Treating symptoms as needed
- Treating any underlying medical condition
Michael Holick is an Endocrinologist in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Holick is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Malnutrition. His top areas of expertise are Vitamin D Deficiency, Malnutrition, Osteoporosis, Thyroidectomy, and Gastric Bypass.
Emory Clinic At 1365 Clifton Road
Thomas Ziegler is an Endocrinologist in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Ziegler has been practicing medicine for over 42 years and is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Malnutrition. His top areas of expertise are Malnutrition, Vitamin D Deficiency, Obesity, Protein Deficiency, and Gastric Bypass.
Heather Keller practices in Waterloo, Canada. Ms. Keller is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Malnutrition. Her top areas of expertise are Malnutrition, Dementia, Swallowing Difficulty, and Dehydration.
The outlook depends on the cause of the malnutrition. Most nutritional deficiencies can be corrected. However, if malnutrition is caused by a medical condition, that illness has to be treated in order to reverse the nutritional deficiency.
If untreated, malnutrition can lead to mental or physical disability, illness, and possibly death.
Talk to your provider about the risk of malnutrition. Treatment is necessary if you or your child have any changes in the body's ability to function. Contact your provider if these symptoms develop:
- Fainting
- Lack of menstruation
- Lack of growth in children
- Rapid hair loss
Eating a well-balanced diet helps to prevent most forms of malnutrition.
Summary: Amoxicillin is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Because children with uncomplicated SAM may have asymptomatic infection due to immune suppression, presumptive treatment with a broad-spectrum antibiotic may be beneficial by clearing any existing infection and improving outcomes. Two randomize...
Summary: This proposal aims to enhance the well being of schoolchildren and their families through a mobile application and multidisciplinary intervention model grounded in authoritative parenting principles and social cognitive theory.
Published Date: April 01, 2025
Published By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor Emeritus, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Cederholm TE, Bosaeus IG. Malnutrition: assessment and support. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 198.
Mason JB, Booth SL. Vitamins, trace minerals, and other micronutrients. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 199.
Nagata JM, McDonald CM. Nutrition, food security, and health. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 62.
Saint-Cyr M, Waldrop SW, Krebs NF. Nutritional requirements. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 60.