What could happen if one was not properly nutritioned?

Question

What could happen if one was malnutritioned? what could be the cause of it? could low carb diets cause malnutrition? How could we prevent people from being not properly nutritioned? What is the difference with an adult not properly nourished and a child not properly nourished?

Answer 1

Unintentionally losing 10 pounds or more may be a sign of malnutrition. People who are malnourished may be skinny or bloated. Their skin is pale, thick, dry, and bruises easily. Rashes and changes in pigmentation are common.

Hair is thin, tightly curled, and pulls out easily. Joints ache and bones are soft and tender. The gums bleed. The tongue may be swollen or shriveled and cracked. Visual disturbances include night blindness and increased sensitivity to light and glare.

Other symptoms of malnutrition include:


Anemia


Diarrhea


Disorientation


Goiter (enlarged thyroid gland)


Loss of reflexes and lack of coordination


Muscle twitches


Scaling and cracking of the lips and mouth.

Malnourished children may be short for their age, thin, listless, and have weakened immune systems.

Diagnosis

Overall appearance, behavior, body-fat distribution, and organ function can alert a family physician, internist, or nutrition specialist to the presence of malnutrition. Patients may be asked to record what they eat during a specific period. X rays can determine bone density and reveal gastrointestinal disturbances, and heart and lung damage.

Blood and urine tests are used to measure levels of vitamins, minerals, and waste products. Nutritional status can also be determined by:


Comparing a patient's weight to standardized charts


Calculating body mass index (BMI) according to a formula that divides height into weight


Measuring skin-fold thickness or the circumference of the upper arm.

Treatment

Normalizing nutritional status starts with a nutritional assessment. This process enables a clinical nutritionist or registered dietician to confirm the presence of malnutrition, assess the effects of the disorder, and formulate diets that will restore adequate nutrition.

Patients who cannot or will not eat, or who are unable to absorb nutrients taken by mouth, may be fed intravenously (parenteral nutrition) or through a tube inserted into the gastrointestinal (GI) tract (enteral nutrition).

Tube feeding is often used to provide nutrients to patients who have suffered burns or who have inflammatory bowel disease. This procedure involves inserting a thin tube through the nose and carefully guiding it along the throat until it reaches the stomach or small intestine. If long-term tube feeding is necessary, the tube may be placed directly into the stomach or small intestine through an incision in the abdomen.

Tube feeding cannot always deliver adequate nutrients to patients who:


Are severely malnourished


Require surgery


Are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments


Have been seriously burned


Have persistent diarrhea or vomiting


Whose gastrointestinal tract is paralyzed.

Intravenous feeding can supply some or all of the nutrients these patients need.

Prognosis

Up to 10% of a person's body weight can be lost without side effects, but if more than 40% is lost, the situation is almost always fatal. Death usually results from heart failure, electrolyte imbalance, or low body temperature. Patients with semiconsciousness, persistent diarrhea, jaundice, or low blood sodium levels have a poorer prognosis.

Some children with protein-energy malnutrition recover completely. Others have many health problems throughout life, including mental retardation and the inability to absorb nutrients through the intestinal tract. Prognosis for all patients with malnutrition seems to be dependent on the age of the patient, and the length and severity of the malnutrition, with young children and the elderly having the highest rate of long-term complications and death.

Poverty and lack of food are the primary reasons why malnutrition occurs in the United States. Ten percent of all members of low income households do not always have enough healthful food to eat, and malnutrition affects one in four elderly Americans. Protein-energy malnutrition occurs in 50% of surgical patients and in 48% of all other hospital patients.

There is an increased risk of malnutrition associated with chronic diseases, especially disease of the intestinal tract, kidneys, and liver. Patients with chronic diseases like cancer, AIDS, and intestinal disorders may lose weight rapidly and become susceptible to undernourishment because they cannot absorb valuable vitamins, calories, and iron.

People with drug or alcohol dependencies are also at increased risk of malnurtrition. These people tend to maintain inadequate diets for long periods of time and their ability to absorb nutrients is impaired by the alcohol or drug's affect on body tissues, particularly the liver, pancreas, and brain.

Breastfeeding a baby for at least six months is considered the best way to prevent early-childhood malnutrition. The United States Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Service recommend that all Americans over the age of two:


Consume plenty of fruits, grains, and vegetables


Eat a variety of foods that are low in fats and cholesterols and contain only moderate amounts of salt, sugars, and sodium


Engage in moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes, at least several times a week


Achieve or maintain their ideal weight


Use alcohol sparingly or avoid it altogether.

Every patient admitted to a hospital should be screened for the presence of illnesses and conditions that could lead to protein-energy malnutrition. Patients with higher-than-average risk for malnutrition should be more closely assessed and reevaluated often during long-term hospitalization or nursing-home care.

Answer 2

Any diet that does not have food from all the food groups can cause a deficiency of one sort or another. Instead of following diet fads, eat a well balanced diet, drink lots of water, and exercise. (even if you just walk).

Old Soldier

Answer 3

Child won't develop properly and the adult will lead and unhealthy life and die early.
Also leads to serious depression and mental ilness not to mention the damage to the internal organs..

Answer 4

well, for one, you would feel weak, possibly get sick more easily and frequnetly, and possibly even die. an adult malnourished is different from a child because the adult is more mature and the child may not know what he/she is doing. both can seek help but since they are still dependent upon their parents, they can seek support and understanding and help from their parents or their parents can get help. the adult is responsible for his/her own body and it is upon them, if they are malnourished, to do what they can to get healthy again.

Answer 5

There are many different types and syntomps but here is a site below and they can also link to illnesses like depresson, Schizophrenia nd bipolar!
http://health.yahoo.com/news/45446;_ylt=AtyO35N1KBaJPzcZeB49nTYYu7cF

Answer 6

I need to know too :)