Effects of Malnourishment on Children when they Age - Report Example

Effects of Malnourishment on Children when they Age Effects of Malnourishment on Children when they Age Malnutrition is one of the evils that puts in trouble most of the developing countries. Its effects are capable of causing lasting damage to the physical and mental capabilities of the children who undergo poverty. In simple words malnutrition can be defined as the shortage of energy, nutrients and essential vitamins and minerals in the food one consumes. It is not starvation or poverty as such. It has got wider meaning than just poverty or starvation. In some occasions, malnutrition also means excess of afore said vitamins and minerals adversely affecting the good health of a person. However, it is the problem of under nutrition that most nations are concerned with. It is the children who mostly fall victims to under nutrition. These children may get food to satisfy their hunger but not inevitably the nutrients and minerals that are necessary for the proper development. It is estimated that more than fifty percent of the child deaths in the developing countries are due to malnutrition. Those who survive end up with life time problems. Similarly, it is wrong to assume that an overweight child is healthy. The fatty foods and chocolate bars one consumes will surely bring him into troubles such as fatness and cholesterol. Children being the future human resource reservoirs of a nation, any government neglecting attention to this, are compromising its own human resource needs of future. For the proper development and functioning of the human body vitamins and minerals are a must. They are unavoidable in the case of children as the momentum of growth is augmented at this age. The deficiency of minerals like calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, zinc and vitamins have their effects always on a growing child. As Scrimshaw (n.d.) points out, calcium is one of the major minerals lacked by children of under developed countries in their diet. It has a good involvement in the healthy development of bones and teeth of young people. The hardness of the bones is due to the presence of adequate calcium elements in the body. Due to the deficiency of calcium a lot of problems may occur to children. The most important among the bone disease caused by calcium deficiency is Osteoporosis that causes fractures in weak bones and makes bones easier to break. When children grow up, they deficiency they had in the childhood will have its effects and their bones will likely to be broken at the slightest collision or clash. At the growing age, children are expected to be exuberant and rushing everywhere causing little damage to their own bodies. However, children who suffer from Osteoporosis are not likely to be active and vibrant like normal children and are about to badly harm them if they try to behave like normal children. Another effect of malnourishment on children is their paled color. This paled color of the skin is caused by anemia. Iron deficiency is a major cause of this illness. It is the presence of iron that ensures sufficient number of red blood cells in the human body (Iron-Deficiency Anaemia). The anemia infected children will be fatigue and usually inactive. There may not be sufficient blood circulation in their body to make them energetic. It may also pave way to poisoning and infections and losing immunity power of body or may even cause behavioral problems among children. Children who did not get adequate magnesium content diet may fall victims to problems like tingling, numbing and hallucination. Being frozen and indulge in day dreaming causing behavioral problems such as being introvert and sensitive. The symptoms of the deficiency of this mineral are fatigue, drowsiness and weakness. Absence of minerals like potassium elements in blood leads to a number of common diseases such as hypertension, osteoporosis and kidney stone. It is potassium that works to regulate blood pressure and muscle contraction. Increasing blood pressure is a sign of lack of potassium in blood. Furthermore, muscle spasms, muscle tiredness and fatigue, osteoporosis, over anxiety etc are caused by this (Nutritional Supplements Center). It is really horrible to have hypertension and muscle spam in the younger ages itself. Hypertension and blood pressure will result in the breakage of blood vessels and internal hemorrhage. If children are not provided with potassium enriched food, they will prematurely be affected with illness that usually aged people get.  Like many of its counter parts, zinc is very important in the proper development of human body. It carries out several functions like cell growth and division, metabolism of proteins and so on. It also helps in the development and growth of muscles. Abnormality in the proportion of zinc can lead to genetic disorders. If zinc is absent, curing skin diseases will be difficult. It is due to the absence of zinc, we see children with infected skin. In some other cases, the children who are denied this mineral will be slow to achieve sexual maturity. The abnormal growth of certain parts of the body as well is caused by this. This abnormal growth will eventually result in gigantism. It is quite normal that children have problem with their eyes and vision. Unable to defend with germs and bacteria, they may suddenly fall sick. These are all due to lack of vitamin A. The disturbances caused in its absence are blindness, lack of immunity, abnormal bone growth and so on. It is during the school age children mostly fall sick due to continuous exposure to the outside atmosphere. This is the reason why Doctors prescribe tablets containing vitamin A particles to children at this age (Vitamin A (Retinol). As Messina (2011) points out, deficiency of vitamin C leads to scurvy and different types of cancer. Anemia is the beginning of scurvy. When its severity increases internal bleeding occurs. The person who suffers from this may feel loss of appetite and weight. In the case of animals, it is produced by some organisms but in the case of man it is not possible. Children hate food is attributed as the beginning of scurvy. Apparently it can be seen in almost all food items that we have every day. So, to curb this, one has to increase the quantity of vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, leafy greens and different kinds of berries in the diet. A child who survived malnutrition during his infancy period may have its awful effects on his physical body and mind. His ability to think, remember analyze and work creatively may be reduced or even permanently damaged. Children require lot of energy for their growth and vibrant activities. Those children who were deprived of wholesome food in their infancy will surely show its deficiency in their schooling age. Over weight by malnutrition is not a big issue as it can be resolved through physical activities such as football, cycling, swimming and so on. From this the conclusion to be drawn is that children suffering from the vicious effects of malnutrition have exceptionally compromised immune system and are likely to die more easily while compared with other treatable illnesses. If we turn a blind eye towards this problem, the sufferer’s physical growth and mental development can become impaired permanently. What a nation requires is a fully formed person and not a deformed one. So, it is not a problem that can be snubbed easily. The main factor that pulls back all the efforts of the developing countries is shortage of fund and resources. So, as for such countries, giving nutritious foods to its subjects can be taken as secondary or tertiary aim. References Godlewski, S. (2006). Lack of Calcium and Kids. Disabled World towards Tomorrow. Retrieved from http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/calciumchildren.shtml Iron-Deficiency Anaemia. Medic 8. Retrieved from http://www.medic8.com/blood-disorders/iron-deficiency-anaemia.htm Messina, H. (2011). Deficiency disease caused by lack of vitamin c. retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/351074-deficiency-disease-caused-by-lack-of-vitamin-c/ Nutritional Supplements Center. Potassium Deficiency Contributes to Poor Health. Retrieved from http://www.nutritionalsupplementscenter.com/info/Minerals/potassiumdeficiency.html Scrimshaw, N. S. The lasting damage of early malnutrition. Retrieved from http://one.wfp.org/policies/introduction/background/ending/s1.html Vitamin A (Retinol). Retrieved from http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/misc_topics/vitamina.html Read More