Nutrition/Malnutrition and South Asia

Nutrition/Malnutrition

 Malnutrition occurs when a person does not consume sufficient food of any kind (Berger 2009). Malnutrition causes many children to become underweight. Children become very sick and some even develops chronic illnesses. This topic is very meaningful to me because I do not like the fact that there are so many children who are starving and not receiving the proper nutrients. This topic saddens me and makes me want to help as many children and families as I can. As I researched this topic I found that there are so many countries that have malnourished children and that several die every minute. Some of these countries happen to be: South Asia, Sub-Saharan African, Pakistan, and India.

The country I chose to learn more about is South Asia. South Asia has the highest rate of malnutrition and the largest number of undernourished children in the world (Iqbal 2009). Poverty is mainly the reason for malnourished children in South Asia. In South Asia some women, eat less meals that causes their babies to have low birth weight. Research has proven that this means that the child was undernourished inside the womb and the mother was also undernourished as a child during her pregnancy. (World Bank)

Poor hygiene also adds to the rise of malnourished children. This lower children’s appetite and also causes children to burn more calories when they have a fever. While reading about malnutrition in South Asia; it mentioned that the status of women is another reason why so many children are weak and starving. In South Asia, most women cannot read and doesn’t speak as much, so there is a lack of decision making by the women involving their child’s wellbeing.

This information will help impact my future work is that I am now more familiar with malnutrition in children. I am able to find out about other countries that are affected by this disease. I will be able to identify children who are being underfed. This helps me to be more opened in understanding about other countries and the things that they go through. This topic about malnutrition makes me want to become involved and make sure that my students are getting the right amount of calories and proper nutrients.

References

Iqbal,Saadia. February 2009. Tackling Child Malnutrition in South Asia.

youthink.worldbank.org/blog/tackling-child-malnutrition-south-asia

Bhalla,Nita. Nov 2009. South Asia told Fight dire toddler malnutrition.

http://om/reuters.com/article/idIndia-43869520091111

An Urgent call for Action: Undernourished Children of South Asia.

web.worldbank.org/.../SOUTHASIAEXT/0, contentMDK: 22264595~menuPK: 158937~pagePK: 2865106~piPK: 28651...