Iron Deficiency Anaemia, Obesity and Kwashiorkor - Essay Example

The diseases are very harmful to the human body, as they can affect the body tissues and functions in various adverse ways, resulting in acute inflammatory illnesses, sleep-breathing abnormalities, untreatable skin diseases, and many more. If malnutrition is not taken care of, it can sometimes also result in death (Olivares et al 1999; Patterson et al 2000; Kopelman 2000; William et al 2003).

Deficiency of the nutrient iron is the main cause of Iron Deficiency Anaemia. This deficiency often occurs due to any or some of the following reasons; less number of iron stores in the body at birth, inadequate intake of iron (through diet or its absorption by the body), increased need for iron charged by growth, and increased loss of iron from the body. Thus, as dietary iron is unable to fulfill the body’s requirements, the depletion of iron stores occurs (which is identified by a drop in serum ferritin below 12 µg/l).

The continuation of this negative balance causes the availability of iron tissue to be compromised which, after a series of events, begins a fall in hemoglobin levels. Low hemoglobin level in the body is quite dangerous because it leads to decreased immunity and, thus, chronic inflammations, especially among children. Decreased immunity and increased infections and illness cut down well-being and physical performance in daily living, proving how essential iron is for the body (Olivares et al 1999; Patterson et al 2000). . It antly accentuated when the obese person is lying flat and causes restlessness, daytime drowsiness, a rise in carbon dioxide and a fall in oxygen levels.

These eventually develop into pulmonary hypertension and respiratory failure. Elevated amounts of fats in the body also raise the total volume of blood circulating in the body. Pumping of so much blood towards and from the heart causes its left wall to enlarge, resulting in incomplete emptying of the heart’s chambers (systolic and diastolic dysfunction) and, eventually, heart failure. It is also confirmed that obese people, who generally have a higher BMI than normal people, have a greater chance of acquiring diabetes as the overall fatness influences glucose metabolism, leading to insulin resistance whenever a glucose-rich meal is taken.

Obesity is the type of malnutrition that usually exists in developed countries where levels of physical activity (which burns excess body fats) are low and can be by far the most fatal of the three diseases if it is left untreated (Kopelman 2000). The final type of malnutrition-related disease is Kwashiorkor, which usually occurs in underdeveloped countries and is caused by the imbalance of nutrients protein and carbohydrate. It occurs most often in young children after weaning due to the fault of the guardians in providing proper compatible feeding or an adequate substitute for the mother’s protein-rich breast milk.