Chennai: Malnutrition remains one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among children globally.
Malnourished children are affected by severely stunted growth and psychological development.
The first five years (59 months) of a child’s life is a critical stage in their physical growth and development. Children suffer from various forms of under nutrition if their nutritional requirements are not fulfilled during this crucial period. Undernutrition among children is a significant contributor to the global disease burden.
There is a need to address both treatment and prevention of acute malnutrition. Prevention is the starting point, and more resources must be dedicated for identifying and analysing the specific drivers of persisting Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), and to tailor and document the appropriate method of approach, say Dr T Sivapriya, Associate Professor, Department of Food Technology. Hindustan Institute of technology and Science and Dr Sheila John, Associate Professor and Head (PG), Department of Home Science, Women’s Christian College, Chennai.
As the first line of prevention, infant and young child feeding practices need to be improved, with a focus on improving complementary feeding through increasing affordability and accessibility of nutritious foods.
A dehydrated SAM child should be rehydrated slowly, either orally or by nasogastric tube, using oral rehydration solution for malnourished children, they said.
‘All severely malnourished child should be fed with potassium chloride syrup,3-4 mmol/kg/per day for a fortnight to correct oedema and electrolyte imbalance’.