Beware before your Child’s Malnutrition becomes incurable!
Is
your child losing weight abnormally? Is there any visible abnormality in the
development of your child? Don’t ignore! The little one might be a victim of
malnutrition.
The
child population of 0-6 years in India is 13.1% of the total population. But
43% of this future citizens are underweight However, malnutrition covers both
under-nutrition and over-nutrition. So, you should be alert in both the
conditions. Both the undernourished and obese become under-performers in
different aspects of life and as a result they turn less productive.
Some
Causes of Malnutrition in Children
Depending
on the lifestyle, socio-economic status and awareness, there can be different
reasons behind malnutrition in your child.
Below
are some of the factors that usually leads to malnutrition in children in
India-
Ø Poor
Nutrition
Ø Low-intake
of nutritious food
Ø Lack
of awareness about nutrition and healthcare
Ø Lack
of iron and folic acid supplements intake by the pregnant women
Ø Lack
of non-availability of healthcare assistance at the right time
Ø Poor
sanitation
ØEarly
marriage and the lack of breastfeeding.
Ø Lack
of parental education
Ø Incomplete
vaccination
Ø Ignorance
of Healthy diet
Ø Unhealthy
feeding and caring practices
Ø Unsafe
water
Ø Lack
of proper sanitation & Hygiene
ØUnemployment,
poverty, caste, child marriage
ØWeak
implementation of government nutrition schemes.
Ø Inadequate
health infrastructure, technology and services
Ø The
worms take away the essential nutrition consumed by the child resulting easy
infection and malnutrition.
Possible
Preventive Measures
The
chronic malnutrition effects become irreversible after the age of 2 years.
Hence, the children must be addressed for malnutrition within the age of 2
years to break this chain of poverty and malnutrition through generations.
Multipronged
approach is required to fight malnutrition in India. Some basic preventive
steps can keep your child safe from this Malnutrition Emergency-
ØEnsuring
balanced diet consumption with adequate nutrients like dietary protein in the
form of milk, vitamins and minerals, eggs, Fruit, vegetables, meat and pulses.
Ø Consuming
various locally available and culturally accepted low cost nutritious foods
Ø Encouraging
mothers to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months which can be continued for 2 years
along with other nutritious foods.
Ø Feeding
the child properly during illness.
Ø Creating
awareness about importance of growing kitchen garden.
Ø Immunizing
the children at the right time
Ø Following
proper sanitation in everyday life.
Ø Deworming
of the child so that the nutrition within the child remains intact.
Ø Regular
monitoring of Body Mass index (BMI) of children
Ø Regular
supply of folic acid, Iron, vitamins and minerals to all pregnant women.
Ø Healthy
ready-to-use-foods such as formulated bars or biscuits can add different ranges
of high-quality protein, micronutrients and energy. These products nutrient
dense and are resistant to microbes.
Damages
caused by Malnutrition
Among
118 developing nations, India ranked 97, as per the Global Hunger Index (GHI)
for 2016. Stunting (low height for age), wasting (low eight by height) and
underweight (low weight for age) are the three main consequences of
malnutrition across the rural and urban India.
Mortality
and malnutrition are the two sides of the same coin. Despite of having the
largest food supplementation programme for children and rapid economic growth,
the mortality rate of infants and under 5 children in India are 42 and 49
respectively.
Here
are some other damages that are caused to your child due to malnutrition-
Ø Unplanned
weight loss
Ø Muscle
weakness
Ø Depression
Ø Tiredness
and fatigue
Ø Anaemia
Ø Stunted
growth
Ø Hair
loss, dry, scaly skin
Ø Decaying
teeth
Ø Swollen
Bleeding Gums
Ø Prolonged
diarrhoea
Ø Weak
immune system
Ø Skin
infections
Ø Poor
memory
Ø Low
IQ
Ø Renal
failure
Ø Bloated
stomach
Ø Osteoporosis
or fragile bones
Ø Preventable
Blindness
Ø Mental
Retardness
Treatment
of Malnutrition in Children
Additional
nutrient supplement can be a solution depending on the level of malnutrition.
One such high energy nutritional health drink is Aadhar that can be purchased
from SastaSudar.com. It is an all-round growth formula that can be consumed by
children along with milk or warm water.
However,
the most important part is to find out the underlying reason behind
malnutrition and that can be done by a specialised doctor only. Following this,
the doctor will prescribe the specific need of nutrients the child requires.
A
child who is having enough food might also experience the symptoms of
malnutrition due to less digestion and absorption capacity of food nutrients.
For example, a child with Cystic Fibrosis can face less absorption problem as
it affects the digestive enzyme producing organ pancreas.
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