Malnutrition Overview
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
- 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
Geisinger Clinic
William Taylor is a Family Medicine provider in Port Matilda, Pennsylvania. Dr. Taylor and is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Malnutrition. His top areas of expertise are Mycosis Fungoides, Cellulitis, Peptic Ulcer, High Cholesterol, and Endoscopy.
The Milton S Hershey Medical Center Physicians Group
Allison Holmes is a Family Medicine provider in State College, Pennsylvania. Dr. Holmes and is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Malnutrition. Her top areas of expertise are Axial Spondyloarthritis (AxSpA), Ankylosing Spondylitis, Rheumatoid Lung Disease, and Rheumatoid Pneumoconiosis.
Mount Nittany Medical Center Health Services, Inc
Jason Schweichler is a Family Medicine provider in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania. Dr. Schweichler and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Malnutrition. His top areas of expertise are Malnutrition, Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), High Cholesterol, and Vitamin D Deficiency.
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: Childhood obesity prevalence is increasing and is a serious public health challenge. Indeed, according to INPES in 2006, overweight and obesity were affecting 18 % of French children between 3 and 17 years. 3 % of the boys and 4 % of the girls were classified as obese. Obese children are likely to develop chronic disease, starting at paediatric age, as cardiovascular or bone diseases, or type 2 di...
Summary: This study will assess the impact of Vitamin D supplementation on hypertensive patients with Vitamin D deficiency, it will also investigate the relationship between serum Vitamin D, irisin levels, blood pressure, and heart rate variability (HRV) in hypertensive and normotensive individuals. It is hypothesized that a decrease in blood pressure and an increase in HRV will be noted in the hypertensiv...
Published Date: April 27, 2023
Published By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor, 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.
Ashworth A. Nutrition, food security, and health. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, Shah SS, Tasker RC, Wilson KM, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 21st ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier;2020:chap 57.
Ziegler TR, Malnutrition: assessment and support. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 204.