Undernutrition is a complex problem generated by factors operating at several levels and cannot be attributed only to lack of food. Therefore actions should target the different causes to achieve sustainable change. This requires a multi-sectoral approach. Figure 1 illustrates the commonly used UNICEF developed conceptual framework for understanding the causes of undernutrition [1]. Three level...

BACKGROUND Medical and nursing education lack adequate practical nutrition training to fit the clinical reality that health workers face in their practices. Such a deficit creates health workers with poor nutrition knowledge and child undernutrition management practices. In-service nutrition training can help to fill this gap. However, no systematic review has examined its collective effectiven...

BACKGROUND In low-resource settings, malaria and macronutrient undernutrition are major health problems in pregnancy, contributing significantly to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth and fetal growth restriction. Affected pregnancies may result in stillbirth and neonatal death, and surviving children are at risk of poor growth and infection in infancy, and of non-communicable dise...

BACKGROUND Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome, which affects the functional status and mobility of individuals. OBJECTIVE To identify the prevalence of sarcopenia and undernutrition, and to assess the association between sarcopenia and mobility, and sarcopenia and basic activities of daily living (ADL) in a group of elderly women. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed i...

In this paper we set out to explore the prevalence of child undernutrition found in community studies in affluent societies, but a preliminary literature review revealed that, in the absence of a gold standard method of diagnosis, the prevalence largely depends on the measure, threshold and the growth reference used, as well as age. We thus go on to explore describe the common clinical ‘syndrom...

Growth faltering and nutritional deficiencies continue to be highly prevalent in infants and young children (IYC) living in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries. There is increasing recognition that feeding behaviors and styles, particularly responsive feeding (RF), could influence acceptance of food and dietary intake and thus the growth of IYC. This paper presents the evolution of RF resea...

The aims of this study were to analyse body composition, to detect the presence of undernutrition, and to establish a relationship between undernutrition and the biological markers routinely used as indicators of nutritional status in hemodialysis (HD) patients (pts). We used a body composition monitor (BCM) that expresses body weight in terms of lean tissue mass (LTM) and fat tissue mass (FTM)...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To assess the prevalence of premorbid undernutrition and its impact on outcomes 1 month after stroke. METHODS The study recruited from consecutive stroke admissions during a 10-month period. Premorbid nutritional status (using the subjective global assessment [SGA]), premorbid functioning (modified Rankin scale [MRS]), and stroke severity (National Institutes of Health ...

The three conventional anthropometric indicators of childhood undernutrition are stunting (low height-for-age), underweight (low weight-for-age) and wasting (low weight-for-height). Recently a new composite index, namely the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) has been proposed and utilised to study childhood undernutrition. In this paper, we have attempted to construct three new i...

INTRODUCTION In developing countries, severe undernutrition in early childhood is associated with increased mortality and morbidity, and 10-40% of hospital admissions. The current study aimed to elicit maternal perceptions of factors that contribute to severe undernutrition among children in a rural Kenyan community in order to identify appropriate and acceptable targeted interventions. METHO...