Infantile malnutrition in the tropics.

Abstract

One of the major factors in the development of severe protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is infection, such as diarrhea, upper respiratory infection, and malaria. Social and environmental factors include family size, access to land and occupation of parents, and exposure of rural populations to urban centers. Breast milk has been shown to play a role in the prevention of infections; however, the mother must be well-nourished to provide the optimum product. Traditional foods available to rural children in most developing countries are difficult to digest and low in energy and protein and inadequate nutritional education prevents the inclusion of good protein sources in children's diets. Severe PEM, called marasmus and kwashiorkor is indicated by wasting of muscles, absence of subcutaneous fat, wrinkled skin, thin and sparse hair, and weakness. The basic treatment for severe PEM is dietary. Treatment of kwashiorkor and marasmus is divided into 3 stages: 1) attending to acute problems, 2) restoring nutritional balance, and 3) ensuring nutritional rehabilitation. Care must be taken to ensure a minimum daily intake of 3-4 gm of protein and 120-150 Kcal of energy/kg of body weight. There must be, in addition, replacement of vitamin A, zinc, potassium, magnesium, and iron. An initial regimen which has been advocated is based on dry skim milk, sugar, and vegetable oil, divided into 6-12 feedings/day, which prevents vomiting. It is not necessary to remove lactose from the diet, and other animal protein sources such as meat and meat extracts are also well accepted. Soy and vegetable protein have been used successfully. In treating mild and moderate PEM it is important to ensure the intake of these food supplements by the child and to avoid a major substitution effect in the household diet. It is crucial for the physicians, nutritionists, public health workers, and educators to convince parents about the safety of using foods that are fed only to adults and older children. In addition nutritional and health education must not be restricted to the rehabilitation of the child but the prevention of nutritonal deterioration of the entire family and sometimes to the entire community.