Whats is Malnutrition? How to Prevent Malnutrition?

An adequate diet should contain liberal amounts of protein-rich and protective foods and should supply all the dietary essentials in the required amounts.  Dietary surveys carried out in western countries have shown that the diets contain large amounts of protein-rich and protein foods such as milk, eggs, meat and fish and provide all the Nutrients in adequate amounts.  

The rate of growth of children and the nutritional status of the population are very good.  Studies carried out in United Kingdom and United States of America have shown that the quality of diets consumed by the people during the period 1910-1960 have been steadily improving and consequently the growth rate of children indicating thereby that the diets have been adequate for promoting maximum growth in children.  On the other hand, the diets consumed by a large majority of the population in the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, are based mainly on Energy Yielding Foods and contain only small amounts of Protective Rich Foods.  Such diets are deficient in proteins, certain vitamins and minerals.  

A fair section of the population does not get enough food to eat and their diets are deficient in calories also.  The rate of growth of children in the developing countries is poor.  The children are malnourished, emaciated and stunted.  The incidence of protein calorie malnutrition, clinical signs and symptoms due to vitamin A deficiency and anemia (Red Blood Cells- deficiency) are quite high among weaned infants and pre-school children.

Prevention of Malnutrition

The problem of overcoming malnutrition and improving the nutritional status of the vulnerable sections of the population has been engaging the attention of nutritionists.  Studies carried out in several nutrition research laboratories all over the world have shown that supplementation of the diets with extra cereals, legumes and green leafy vegetables or with processed food supplements based on cereals, oilseed meals and fortified with essential vitamins and minerals can help effectively to overcome malnutrition and improve the health and nutritional status of the population.  Recent developments have made it possible to manufacture vitamins synthetically on a large scale at low cost and use them for fortifying low cost food supplements and for the treatment of vitamin deficiency diseases.  By the application of the available knowledge, it is possible to eradicate malnutrition. 

Classification of Nutrients in Foods

Classification of Nutritional Foods

Since foods vary widely in their contents of various Nutrients, they have been broadly grouped under three heads from the nutritional point of view namely,

1) Body building foods

2) Energy-yielding foods and

3) Protective foods.  

These are briefly discussed below:

Energy yielding foods:

Rich in carbohydrates and Fat Foods are called Energy Yielding foods.  Cereals, tubers and roots, dried fruits, sugars and fats are included in this group.  Cereals contain, in addition, fair amounts of proteins, minerals and certain vitamins and form the important sources of the above nutrients in poor dietaries.

Body Building Foods:

Body Building Foods are those foods which are rich in proteins, Pulses, Milk, Meat, Oilseeds, Fish, Eggs and Nuts and lower Fat Oilseed Fours are included in the group of body building foods.

Protective Foods:
Protective Foods are those foods which are rich in Vitamins, Proteins, and Minerals.

Protective Foods are broadly divided/classified into 2 Groups: (a) Foods rich in Vitamins, Proteins, and Minerals with high biological value, for example, milk, eggs, and liver, and (b) Foods rich in certain specific vitamins and minerals only, for example, green leafy vegetables and fruits.

What are Nutrients and different types of Nutrients?

Studies carried out by many scientists have shown that foods contain several chemical constituents which are known as nutrients.  These chemical are which a organism need to develop its substance using its metabolism.  These are basically used in enrichment of body. 

What are the different types of Nutrients?

Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats, Minerals, and Vitamins.

The importance of these nutrients is briefly discussed below:

What are Proteins and why are they Important/required?

Proteins are required for growth in children and maintenance of body weight in adults.  Proteins also provide energy to a small extent.  Proteins constitute about 25% of the body weight.  Body proteins are derived from the dietary proteins.  The body loses continuously some quantity of proteins and this loss has to be made up of simpler chemical substances known as amino-acids.  The amino-acid contents of proteins have been found to differ from one protein to another.  The nutritional value of proteins depends on their amino-acid contents.  As a result of studies carried out by several scientists, a large amount of information is available on the nutritive value of dietary proteins and the protein requirements of human beings.

What and why are Carbohydrates used?

Carbohydrates are the main sources of energy for doing work.  The carbohydrates commonly occurring in foods are starch, cane sugar, glucose, fructose and milk sugar.  About 50 to 70 percent of energy value in the average diet is provided by carbohydrates.  They are the cheapest source of energy.  Glucose derived from the digestion of carbohydrates is used as the main source of energy in the body.  Hence, the diets should contain adequate amounts of carbohydrates to meet a greater part of the energy needs.

What are the functions of fats and oils / How Fats and oil functions in the body?

Oils and fats serve mainly as the source of energy and they contain some essential nutrients like essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins.  Fat is essential for maintaining good health, as absence of fat leads to the development of a deficiency disease affecting the skin known as Phrynoderma.

Different types of Minerals?

The body contains about 24 minerals all of which are derived from the diet.  The important minerals are calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, iron, copper, iodine, cobalt, fluorine and zinc.  The minerals are essential for formation of various body functions, example, calcium and phosphorus for the formation of bones and teeth, sodium, potassium, chloride and phosphorus for maintaining water balance in the body, iron and copper for the formation of hemoglobin and iodine for the normal functioning of thyroid glands.  Diets should, therefore, provide adequate amounts of all the minerals.

What and how many types of Vitamins are there?

Studies carried out by several pioneers have shown that foods contain certain chemical substances in small amounts which are now called Vitamins.  About 17 different vitamins have so far been discovered.  All of them are essential for normal functioning of the human body.  Inadequate intake of vitamins will lead to the development of deficiency diseases.  Vitamins have been grouped under two heads: fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E and K and water-soluble vitamins, example, vitamin B, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin, vitamin C and vitamin P.  A large amount of information is available on the functions of vitamins, vitamin content of foods and vitamin requirements.