Is the protein deprivation method backed by research?
5 min read
Asked by: Lanino Naranjo
Who discovered protein-energy malnutrition?
The term signifies sickness an elder child may suffer from when a younger one is born. In 1932, kwashiorkor was first described by Dr. Cicely Williams, while working with African children on the Gold Coast.
Why is PEM a concern?
The severity and clinical features of PEM indicate food deficiency in the forms of marasmus and kwashiorkor. PEM becomes life threatening when susceptibility to infectious diseases increases that would not normally be lethal (Swinburn et al., 2004).
What is PEM how is it caused?
Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is a common childhood disorder and is primarily caused by deficiency of energy, protein, and micronutrients. PEM manifests as underweight (low body weight compared with healthy peers), stunting (poor linear growth), wasting (acute weight loss), or edematous malnutrition (kwashiorkor).
Why protein-energy malnutrition is very serious in developing countries?
After insufficient supply of protein, carbohydrates and fat, the next major cause of protein–energy malnutrition is severe and chronic infections — particularly those producing diarrhea, but also other diseases such as helminthic infections.
How can we prevent PEM in the community?
Explanation: The PEM can be prevented by provoiding proper balanced diet including high amount of protein to the mother as well as to the babay. Others factors like the proper age of mother, mother’s weight and the proper knowledge of the malnutrition to mother can prevent PEM.
What do you understand by PEM?
According to World Health Organization, protein energy malnutrition (PEM) refers to “an imbalance between the supply of protein and energy and the body’s demand for them to ensure optimal growth and function”.[1] It is a major public health problem in India.
What is PEM long Covid?
Conclusion: Long COVID is characterized by chronic fatigue that is clinically relevant and at least as severe as fatigue in several other clinical conditions. PEM is a significant challenge for this patient group.
What are the adverse effects of PEM?
The studies in experimental animals in the west and children in developing countries have revealed the adverse effects of PEM on the biochemistry of developing brain which leads to tissue damage and tissue contents, growth arrest, developmental differentiation, myelination, reduction of synapses, synaptic transmitters …
What happened to the children suffering from protein calorie malnutrition?
Severe symptoms include:
Loss of 20 percent or more of body weight. Edema (fluid retention, swelling) Kwashiorkor (extremely thin arms/legs, fluid collects in abdomen/other tissues and dry/peeling skin) Low blood pressure (hypotension)
How can we solve malnutrition problem in our country?
Direct nutrition and health interventions
- Improved health care system.
- Nutrition education.
- Early detection of malnutrition and intervention.
- Nutrition supplementation.
- Objective of nutrition supplementation of infants and children includes.
- Objective of supplementing pregnant and lactating women include.
What is the leading cause of malnutrition in the developing world?
Poverty is the number one cause of malnutrition in developing countries. Often times, families living in poverty lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
How is protein-energy malnutrition treated?
Milk-based formulas are the treatment of choice. At the beginning of dietary treatment, patients should be fed ad libitum. After 1 week, intake rates should approach 175 kcal/kg and 4 g/kg of protein for children and 60 kcal/kg and 2 g/kg of protein for adults. A daily multivitamin should also be added.
Which population has a high prevalence of PEM?
The prevalence of PEM is high among rural children (71.1%) compared to urban children (64.4%) and this difference is found to be statistically significant.
How is PEM diagnosed?
Protein-energy malnutrition is diagnosed clinically based on the history and examination including measurement of height, weight, and body mass index (BMI). Blood tests will typically show anaemia, low serum protein and albumin levels, and often liver function abnormalities.
What are the five clinical presentation of PEM?
Clinical signs and symptoms of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) include the following: Poor weight gain. Slowing of linear growth. Behavioral changes – Irritability, apathy, decreased social responsiveness, anxiety, and attention deficits.
What lab tests show malnutrition?
The most helpful laboratory studies in assessing malnutrition in a child are hematological studies and laboratory studies evaluating protein status. Hematological studies should include a CBC count with RBC indices and a peripheral smear.
What can you eat on protein-energy malnutrition?
Consume a healthy eating pattern that accounts for all foods and beverages within an appropriate calorie level, such as the following:
- Vegetables from all subgroups.
- Fruits.
- Grains.
- Fat-free or low-fat dairy.
- A variety of protein foods.
- Oils.
What is the fastest way to cure malnutrition?
Treating malnutrition in children
- dietary changes, such as eating foods high in energy and nutrients.
- support for families to help them manage factors affecting the child’s nutritional intake.
- treatment for any underlying medical conditions causing malnutrition.
- vitamin and mineral supplements.
What are the 4 types of malnutrition?
There are 4 broad sub-forms of undernutrition: wasting, stunting, underweight, and deficiencies in vitamins and minerals.
How long does it take to recover from malnutrition?
The recovery rate for oedematous malnutrition was 57.6% (95% CI 52.9% to 62.2%) whereas the recovery rate for non-oedematous malnutrition was 63.8% (95% CI 61.1% to 66.5%). The median time to recovery was 16 days (IQR=11–28).
Can you reverse malnutrition?
Those who are particularly susceptible to malnutrition include older adults and adults experiencing a chronic health illness such as cancer or arthritis. The good news is that malnutrition can be prevented and the effects can be reversed with proper nutritional restoration.
Is chronic malnutrition reversible?
The consequences of chronic malnutrition on a child’s development are largely irreversible.
How do doctors treat malnutrition?
Treatment. Patients who cannot or will not eat or who are unable to absorb nutrients taken by mouth may be fed intravenously (parenteral nutrition) or through a tube inserted into the gastrointestinal tract (enteral nutrition).
Do Multivitamins help malnutrition?
Of the main types of malnutrition — protein-energy malnutrition, micronutient deficiencies and obesity — multivitamins may only be helpful in preventing micronutrient deficiencies, although they may be useful in the treatment of other types of malnutrition.
How long can a malnourished person live?
However, people who have voluntarily stopped eating to participate in hunger strikes have died after 45–61 days , which suggests that a person would be unlikely to survive for 3 months. The body needs the nutrients in food to survive.
