how does malnutrition effect internal organs?!
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Malnutrition is the condition that develops when the body does not get the right amount of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissues and organ function.
Description
Undernutrition
Malnutrition occurs in people who are either undernourished or over-nourished. Undernutrition is a consequence of consuming too few essential nutrients or using or excreting them more rapidly than they can be replaced.
Infants, young children, and teenagers need additional nutrients. So do women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Nutrient loss can be accelerated by diarrhea, excessive sweating, heavy bleeding (hemorrhage), or kidney failure. Nutrient intake can be restricted by age-related illnesses and conditions, excessive dieting, severe injury, serious illness, a lengthy hospitalization, or substance abuse.
The leading cause of death in children in developing countries is protein-energy malnutrition. This type of malnutrition is the result of inadequate intake of calories from proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Children who are already undernourished can suffer from protein-energy malnutrition when rapid growth, infection, or disease increases the need for protein and essential minerals.
Overnutrition
In the United States, nutritional deficiencies have generally been replaced by dietary imbalances or excesses associated with many of the leading causes of death and disability. Overnutrition results from eating too much, eating too many of the wrong things, not exercising enough, or taking too many vitamins or other dietary replacements.
Risk of overnutrition is also increased by being more than 20% overweight, consuming a diet high in fat and salt, and taking high doses of:
Nicotinic acid (niacin) to lower elevated cholesterol levels
Vitamin B6 to relieve premenstrual syndrome
Vitamin A to clear up skin problems
Iron or other trace minerals not prescribed by a doctor.
Nutritional disorders can affect any system in the body and the senses of sight, taste, and smell. Malnutrition begins with changes in nutrient levels in blood and tissues. Alterations in enzyme levels, tissue abnormalities, and organ malfunction may be followed by illness and death.
Causes and symptoms
Poverty and lack of food are the primary reasons why malnutrition occurs in the United States. Ten percent of all members of low income households do not always have enough healthful food to eat, and malnutrition affects one in four elderly Americans. Protein-energy malnutrition occurs in 50% of surgical patients and in 48% of all other hospital patients.
There is an increased risk of malnutrition associated with chronic diseases, especially disease of the intestinal tract, kidneys, and liver. Patients with chronic diseases like cancer, AIDS, and intestinal disorders may lose weight rapidly and become susceptible to undernourishment because they cannot absorb valuable vitamins, calories, and iron.
People with drug or alcohol dependencies are also at increased risk of malnurtrition. These people tend to maintain inadequate diets for long periods of time and their ability to absorb nutrients is impaired by the alcohol or drug's affect on body tissues, particularly the liver, pancreas, and brain.
Unintentionally losing 10 pounds or more may be a sign of malnutrition. People who are malnourished may be skinny or bloated. Their skin is pale, thick, dry, and bruises easily. Rashes and changes in pigmentation are common.
Hair is thin, tightly curled, and pulls out easily. Joints ache and bones are soft and tender. The gums bleed. The tongue may be swollen or shriveled and cracked. Visual disturbances include night blindness and increased sensitivity to light and glare.
Other symptoms of malnutrition include:
Anemia
Diarrhea
Disorientation
Goiter (enlarged thyroid gland)
Loss of reflexes and lack of coordination
Muscle twitches
Scaling and cracking of the lips and mouth.
Malnourished children may be short for their age, thin, listless, and have weakened immune systems.
Other Answers:
first of all malnutrition means you are not getting the right amount of food into your body, so malnutriton effects the internal organs because they haven't got the right fuel to run, simmelar to a car, so alike to a car, your internal organs will start to go crazy too and not react the way they are meant to, like making you very, very sick!
just had a case of a 6wk old infant that was severely under nurtured which causes dehydration and it caused horrible blood clots in the brain. When the body is severely dehydrated the blood vessels turn to mush and then the kidney and liver crystallizes and shut down and then the heart stops.
lacking protein,inner organs cannot grow to normal size and cannot do their jobs efficiently ,especially for liver
lacking vitamins ,they could deteriorate ,leading to chronic diseases,cause cells develop and work depending on so many chemistry reactions that need special enzymes to support and catalyze
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