CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Nourishing meals are not found only in the expensive imported tinned food as many people think. There are a number of locally grown food stuff which easily meet the body’s nutritional needs. The important thing is to have the right combination of these foods in all meals.
Malnutrition is described as the over or under consumption of food nutrient resulting in health disorder malnutrition is usually common even in well – to do families in the developing countries. It affects those individuals who are less knowledgeable of proper nutrition in the developed world.
Over nutrition is the main source of malnutrition in many developed countries. Excessive consumption of fat and carbohydrate food is most often implicated in obesity. Obsessed people are more likely to involve in various disability and life expectancy is reduced.
Many people lack the understanding of the function of food. One of the main aspects of this problems is the general false assumption that “full belly” is all t hat is necessary to provide good health. It is this “full belly” concepts and ignorance that causes many of the nutritional diseases in most countries.
In many developing countries, malnutrition is the single most important public health problem.
A person who is under nourished is more likely to fall victim to an infection diseases than a person of good nutritional status. Measles, diarrhea, tuberculosis, whooping cough is frequently fatal in young children if the child is poorly nourished.
Malnutrition is known to lower the body’s resistance to infection. A malnourished child has a reduced ability both to form antibodies and to produce increased number of white blood cells. (Leucocytes).
Infection makes malnutrition worse and poor intake of the nutrient increase the severity of infections diseases.
Adequately nourished individual can often withstand the attack of parasites but those in a poor state of nutrition cannot.
The effect of malnutrition on susceptibility to infection can affect a body even before it is born.
Recovery of damaged tissue depends on the nutritional status of this subject. The more serious forms of malnutrition which universal among poor families and Nation result from consumption of poor diet over long period of time. This nutritional disorder is often referred as to under Nutrition. Deficiency of carbohydrates and protein in human diet is rare except among poorer families and is responsible for diseases called Kwashiorkor and marasmus were associated with marked cognitive effects.
The predominant type of malnutrition in Latin America has changed dramatically during the second half of this century.
However, this information above is sufficient to alert one of the possible hazard involved in malnutrition which can render man incapacitated in the society he belongs. An adage says “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.”
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