Thursday, February 16, 2023
Acute and chronic malnutrition are health complications that put growth at risk and affect children's potential development. In fact, a person's future physical, psychological and cognitive-behavioral development as an adult depends on good nutrition in childhood.
Among the consequences of malnutrition are problems with educational performance, difficulties with attention and memory, and also alterations in reproductive health. Even more seriously, acute malnutrition can cause death.
Although both are similar malnutrition problems, they have some distinguishing characteristics, which we present in this Pata Pila article.
As a result, you will have all the information you need to know the difference between acute and chronic malnutrition, and you will also learn about ways to help.
This disorder is characterized by a failure with respect to the expected height and weight for the child's age, as a result of a nutrient deficit over a prolonged period of time.
It is a progressive process in which a series of basic foods needed for the child's proper development have been lacking.
Below, we detail some of the effects associated with this health problem, which can sometimes become irreversible:
In this type of child malnutrition in children, the infant's weight is so low that there is a risk of death. For this reason, urgent medical attention is required to try to reverse the condition.
Acute malnutrition can be subclassified according to the following parameter:
On the other hand, the lack of sufficient calories and quality food causes a drop in the child's weight, and these children usually present the following clinical signs and conditions:
Despite the distinctions that can be made between the two problems, one of the main causes of child malnutrition in Argentina is extreme poverty.
As Lara Salinas says in a Clarín article, child malnutrition is not inherent to the child, but the result of a set of variables that affect the context in which that child lives. This is a consequence of limited access to good health and sanitation conditions, situations of poverty and contexts of violence of all kinds.
For its part, the localities and provinces most affected by child malnutrition in Argentina are considered to be:
And according to the Permanent Household Survey on the incidence of poverty and destitution, presented in an INDEC report, 27.7% of households are below the poverty line. In addition, 6.8% are below the extreme poverty line.
In conclusion, distinguishing between acute and chronic malnutrition is essential to put into action the different mechanisms that exist to combat these health problems.
We take a comprehensive approach to the problem of child social welfare in order to fight acute and chronic malnutrition. All of it starts with training and working together with mothers, the main reference point for children in their first years of life.
If you would like to support an NGO like Pata Pila, you can make a monthly donation on an ongoing basis or as a one-time gift, and so become part of La Comunidad. Keep in mind that 100% of the money raised is invested in developing projects aimed at improving the quality of life of vulnerable communities in our country.
Help us fight acute and chronic malnutrition. In doing so, we will have the chance to change the present way of life and the future of thousands of adults in Argentina.
Child malnutrition is a type of malnutrition that currently affects children and families. And although our country has one of the lowest rates of child deaths from this problem in Latin America, many children still die from child malnutrition in Argentina.
Poverty in Argentina is currently present throughout its entire territory. However, there are certain specific areas where poverty, together with a lack of access to health care and education, has caused an increase in child malnutrition.
All the effects of malnutrition negatively affect people's physical, mental and emotional development from childhood. However, recognizing which malnutrition predominates in Argentina is key to understanding the national state of affairs on this problem. And, consequently, to choosing the paths needed to fight it.