Undernutrition

**Definition:** Undernutrition is a condition in which the body’s requirements are unmet due to underconsumption or to impaired absorption and use of nutrients. It can be produced by lack of access to food, or as a consequence of illness. Undernutrition commonly refers to a deficit in energy intake, but can also refer to deficiencies of specific nutrients, and can be either acute or chronic.

**Long definition:** Despite significant improvements in the past 3 decades, childhood undernutrition continues to be a serious and persistent public health problem. Globally, in 2011, one in four preschool age children (26%, 165 million) was estimated to be stunted, whereas one in six (16%, 101 million) was underweight, and one in 12 (8%, 52 million) wasted. The highest rates of undernutrition are found in Africa and Asia.

Maternal and child undernutrition are associated with adverse functional consequences, including low immune response, poor cognition and intellectual capacity, lost productivity, and poor reproductive performance. In the aggregate (including fetal growth restriction, stunting, wasting, and deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc along with suboptimal breastfeeding) undernutrition is a cause of 3.1 million child deaths annually or 45% of all child deaths in 2011.

**Inclusions:** - Malnutrition NOS

**Exclusions:** - Anorexia Nervosa - Intestinal malabsorption - slim disease - starvation