Malnutrition as a Serious Problem - Essay Example

Malnutrition According to Stratton, et al malnutrition is a condition which occurs when an individual misses enough nutrients or consumes more nutrients. This condition occurs when a person is not given enough proteins or caloric food so as to keep and sustain body growth. Malnutrition is defined by signs and symptoms such as loss of weight, depression, problems with breathing and development of anemia which might lead to problems such as poor healing wounds. The last problem is due to the fact that the number of white blood cells falls making an individual susceptible disease attack. It is estimated that malnutrition is responsible for a high percentage of child mortality in the world and has been a barrier towards achieving good health and education system in the world, especially is Sub-Saharan African and South Asia (Stratton, et al 35). Malnutrition is a serious problem in the world especially in Third World or developing countries. With the elimination of this problem in children, the high mortality rates can be reduced, leading to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. From experience as a nurse, I have witnessed cases of severe malnutrition in children and some adults, and it is worth noting that this is a heartbreaking situation. Childhood obesity Childhood obesity is a condition where a child has excess fat on comparison with other child of the same age. Childhood obesity if not considered will lead to serious complications in future like heart disease and is also the cause of high blood pressure and abnormal blood cholesterol in adulthood. Furthermore, with long term childhood obesity, an individual is likely to suffer from cancers such as breast cancer, prostate, cervix or mental and emotional problems (Weiten, 88). I like educating people about the dangers of child obesity, from the information I have, it has come to my attention that childhood obesity is on the rise. Childhood obesity is a problem which every individual has to deal with by every possible means, though it is hard with current eating habits of high caloric foods. Everyone in the society should do everything possible to see that childhood obesity is reduced so as to curb its future effects such as diabetes which have became common and kill a high number of people. The future will look good if we deal with the root cause of childhood obesity, the number of diabetic patients will fall, the rate of cancer will decrease and heart disease will have been avoided. Bullying Bullying can be defined as harming a person either directly by hitting or indirectly, by talking badly about him or cyber harassment, where an individual is intimidated with messages such as emails. Bullying is one of the main causes of psychological problems to a child, for example, they always feel scared wherever they are, grades in school start dropping, a child loses appetite and finds difficulty sleeping at night due to frequent night mares. With cyber bullying using electronic means like cells phones or the Internet, one can post a video or send a text which can stress the individual featured on the text or video (Mash 169). When I was in elementary school I was bullied and I did bully the kids who were younger than me. It was really a painful experience from what I saw, sometimes I could miss classes by staying at home after faking illness. Bullying is currently seen to be decreasing due to the attention the parents and teacher are paying to children and students. In addition, students who are bullied report the matter the either parents or teachers so as to take action. Bullying will still be prevalent in the future contributing to depression or psychological stress, and with other means of bullying like cyber bullying it will be hard to bring down this problem. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a difficulty in paying attention to current situations. ADHD is more common in children especially boys. One of the main causes of ADHD is the environmental situation, for example, with exposure to chemicals such as lead, cigarette smoking, there will be high chances of pregnant mother giving birth to children with ADHD. ADHD is also genetic, which is the inheritance from our parents and is believed to pass ADHD disorder to children. Children with brain injuries also have high chances of developing ADHD in comparison to those without injuries. Stimulants are currently used for the treatment of child with ADHD since it makes them concentrate and be focused (Mash, 118). ADHD used to be common in the past and still common and well know, for example, my son is suffering from ADHD and he has always performs poorly in school even in simple subjects. I also noticed the from teachers’ reports that he never finishes his assignments. Currently ADHD has got so much attention from the teachers, parents and healthcare providers so they are doing their best to curb this disorder. Since the some of the causes can be avoided, my suggestion is that every individual in the society should avoid petty causes such as pregnant mothers smoking or taking alcohol, which will in future reduce the number of ADHD patients. Eating Disorders Eating disorders are defined as eating in an irregular way, for example, skipping meals, eating too much even when you are already full. Two common types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, where teenagers are mostly affected by anorexia nervosa while women are mainly affected by bulimia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa is a habit whereby an individual is forces themselves to eat in excess due to mental and emotional stress; while with anorexia nervosa, a victim eats less food even when hungry. While the people suffering from anorexia nervosa eat little to avoid gaining weight, the victims of bulimia nervosa eat a lot and try to vomit in order to avoid gaining weight (Weiten, 429). Eating disorders used to be common in youths who were afraid of gaining weight because of the fear of obesity or being overweight. Currently, this situation of eating disorders should be avoided in order to avoid other complications which might occur such as low blood pressure, menstrual irregularities, constipation, dehydration and irregular heartbeat. If the population is not taught the causes and complication of eating disorders, in future it will be hard to control the high number of patient and the complications which they might have developed. Works Cited Mash, J. & Wolfe, A. Abnormal Child Psychology: USA: WADSWORTH CENGAGE Learning. 2010. Print. Stratton, J., Green, C. & Elia, M. Disease-related Malnutrition: An Evidence-based Approach to Treatment. Cambridge, MA: CABI Publishing. 2003. Print. Weiten, W. Psychology: Themes And Variations; Briefer Edition. Belmont, CA, USA: Thomson Wadsworth. 2008. Print. Read More