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| Nutritional Disorders |
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| Nutritional disorders occur due to malnutrition. Malnutrition refers to bad nutrition and can therefore be applied to both undernourishment and overeating. Undernourishment is a serious problem in developing countries with a large population being deprived of a balanced diet or even one full meal a day. Most affected are the children under five years. Undernourishment may be deficiency of proteins, vitamins or minerals. Deficiency of these nutrients leads to diseases, often serious and fatal. |
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| Overeating is a problem faced mostly by the developed European and North American nations. It mostly results in obesity which can led to several other health problems. |
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| Deficiency disorders |
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| The deficiency disorders occur due to under nutrition and lack of one or more nutrients in the diet. |
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| In developing countries, children below the age of five suffer from deficiency of proteins, energy-rich carbohydrates and fats. This leads to serious illnesses like kwashiorkor and marasmus. |
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| Kwashiorkor |
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| Kwashiorkor literally means 'a neglected or rejected child'. It is a disease that occurs due to lack of protein in the diet of children who are not being fed protein-rich breast milk. The child is given a diet that has enough carbohydrates but not proteins. It is a disease prevalent in African countries where the diet is predominantly made up of corn. Corn is deficient in tryptophan, an amino acid that is required to make proteins. However, this disease does not occur in countries that have wheat as a staple food. The disease is often fatal. |
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| Symptoms of Kwashiorkor |
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| The children suffering from kwashiorkor show the following symptoms |
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| a) distended stomach |
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| b) thin legs |
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| c) swollen feet due to water retention |
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| d) irritability |
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| e) stunted growth - physical and mental |
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| f) change in colour of skin and hair |
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| g) skin lesions |
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| h) anaemia |
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| i) reduced resistance to infection |
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| j) enlarged liver, diarrhoea |
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| Cure for kwashiorkor |
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| Kwashiorkor can be cured by giving a protein-rich diet of meat and fish or a combination of wheat, soyabean, peanuts, other pulses and jaggery. |
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| Prevention of kwashiorkor |
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| Kwashiokor can be prevented by giving a protein-rich diet to the chlidren who are deprived of breast milk. |
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| Marasmus |
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| Marasmus develops in children who are deprived of both proteins and carbohydrates. It develops in infants below the age of one who do not get breast milk. It occurs in extremely poor families who are not able to afford any food for the infants and the lactating mothers. |
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| Symptoms of marasmus |
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| a) Degeneration of muscles and the infant is only a mass of skin and bones. |
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| b) Skin is folded due to lack of muscles and fat. |
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| c) Very underweight. |
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| d) diarrhoea |
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| Cure and prevention of marasmus |
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| Marasmus can be cured by giving the infants protein and carbohydrate-rich diet. Prevention of marasmus is only possible if the people have enough to eat and they are able to feed the infants nutritious food like cow's milk in the absence of breast milk. It is, however, very important that the mother's diet is taken care of such that there is enough breast milk for the infant. |
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