Malnutrition News and Research

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Malnutrition is a condition which occurs when there is a deficiency of certain vital nutrients in a person’s diet. The deficiency fails to meet the demands of the body leading to effects on the growth, physical health, mood, behaviour and other functions of the body. Malnutrition commonly affects children and the elderly.

Promising research on cryptosporidiosis could lead to effective treatment: Brandeis University biochemist

Discovered in 1976, cryptosporidium lurks worldwide in water, contaminating swimming pools, water parks, and drinking water supplies. Although it has even been featured on the comedy show The Colbert Report, it is no laughing matter-this microscopic pathogen is a leading cause of diarrhea and malnutrition and the most common source of infection in immune-weakened people such as AIDS patients.

26 Apr 2010

CARE applauds U.S. leadership in addressing long-term solutions to global hunger

Today the humanitarian organization CARE applauds the United States' leadership in addressing long-term solutions to global hunger. CARE commends Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) for holding this important hearing.

23 Apr 2010

Study links maternal height to children's health outcomes

Malnutrition suffered during a woman's childhood "can adversely affect the health of her children, Harvard researchers said Tuesday," following the release of their study in developing countries, which "found that the shortest women were substantially more likely to have children who died at an early age, who were underweight or who failed to thrive, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical [Association]", the Los Angeles Times' blog "Shots" reports.

22 Apr 2010

Reuters examines uneven economic growth, welfare programs in India

Reuters reports on the recent efforts by India's government to expand welfare programs throughout the country: "Since helping the Congress party win re-election last year, welfare has fast become the government's knee-jerk answer to policy dilemmas as it tries to ease food inflation, help growth trickle down to the poor, and win hearts and minds in" the country, the news service writes.

21 Apr 2010

Opinion: After health reform, U.S. should focus on responding to global health needs

"Now that the Obama administration has delivered on health care in the United States, we should think about families around the globe who suffer from malnutrition and lack access to basic maternal and child health-care services, including family planning," Thomas Lovejoy of Population Action International and Jim Harkness, president of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, write in a MinnPost.com opinion piece that examines the health needs of people living in developing countries and ways Congressional leaders can respond.

17 Apr 2010

Penn State professor proposes new strategy to improve adult malnutrition

A new consensus statement on adult malnutrition suggests classifying patients in three categories related to the cause of malnutrition, according to an international committee of nutrition researchers. This approach could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition.

15 Apr 2010

News outlets report on food crisis in Sahel region of Africa

A food crisis is developing across the Sahel region - from Mauritania and Guinea to Nigeria and Sudan - where "[m]illions" of people are facing hunger and malnutrition, aid groups say, afrol News reports.

13 Apr 2010

EDNOS categorization for young people needs to be reconsidered

Diagnostic cutoffs for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa may be too strict, a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital has found. Many patients who do not meet full criteria for these diseases are nevertheless quite ill, and the diagnosis they now receive, "Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified," may delay their ability to get treatment.

12 Apr 2010

ICRC will nearly triple aid to combat food shortages, drought in Niger and Mali

The International Committee of the Red Cross announced Tuesday that it plans to increase aid to Niger and Mali, "where several million people are suffering from serious food shortages triggered by drought," SAPA/News24 reports.

8 Apr 2010

IPS examines malnutrition, obesity in Latin America

Inter Press Service examines malnutrition and factors contributing to the rising rates of "obesity and obesity-related illness - such as type II diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, some forms of cancer and osteoporosis - in Latin America, and especially among the poorest sectors of the population."

7 Apr 2010

Socially deprived children appear to benefit from foster care

Socially deprived children removed from orphanages and placed in foster care appear to experience gains in growth and intelligence, catching up to their non-institutionalized peers on many measures, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

6 Apr 2010

European Commission rolls out new food security policies; Agricultural Research Conference concludes

The European Commission (EC) recently announced that it has adopted two new policy frameworks "to help developing countries address food security in emergency and long-term situations" and has called upon member nations to implement similar policies, IRIN reports.

3 Apr 2010

Hormone ghrelin may improve appetite in gastric cancer patients

In gastric cancer patients who have had part or all of their stomach removed, the hormone ghrelin may lessen post-operative weight loss and improve appetite, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.

1 Apr 2010

Renewed set of national policy guidelines to control diarrhoeal disease in Kenya

Today the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, together with the Department of Family Health (Division of Child and Adolescent Health), unveiled a renewed set of national policy guidelines to redouble diarrhoeal disease management and control efforts by putting proven interventions to work within the country's health system.

31 Mar 2010

Surgery helps reduce weight from 118 kg to 62.8 kg

Weight control is one of the important topics for modern people. In addition to proper diet, regular exercise and appropriate use of medicine, obese suffers may consider weight loss surgeries for faster effects. The first successful case in NCKU Hospital reduced her weight from 118 kg to 62.8 kg one year after the surgery.

29 Mar 2010

Wave of violence and turmoil in Iraq lead to deterioration of linear growth of children

Iraqi children born in areas affected by high levels of violence are shorter in height than children born in less violent areas according to a study at Royal Holloway, University of London.

29 Mar 2010

Ontario's budget to eliminate $250 dietary allowance available to ill recipients

Ontario's budget will eliminate the $250 dietary allowance available to ill recipients of social assistance and this will significantly drive up healthcare costs, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/CUPE said today.

29 Mar 2010

U.N. official calls report on WFP in Somalia 'misleading'; WFP discusses plans to ramp up food aid to Niger, Uganda

The U.N. top aid chief "in Somalia has fired back at a report that suggests food aid is being skimmed off by contractors as 'a cost of doing business' in the war-torn nation, an allegation he calls 'completely misleading,'" CNN reports.

27 Mar 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

"Sub-Saharan Africa is affected by a disproportionately high prevalence of both HIV infection and food scarcity," write the authors of an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article on the relationship between malnutrition and the progression of HIV/AIDS. "Underweight individuals will continue to represent a significant proportion of patients who present for HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa.

27 Mar 2010

Farmers, aid groups call attention to drought, food shortages in West Africa

A coalition of farmers from West Africa's Sahel region, known as Billital Maroobe, wrote an open letter to regional leaders Monday, appealing for help with drought and famine conditions that are affecting people and livestock, Agence France-Presse/IC Publications reports.

24 Mar 2010

Malnutrition News and Research

Further Reading

Promising research on cryptosporidiosis could lead to effective treatment: Brandeis University biochemist

CARE applauds U.S. leadership in addressing long-term solutions to global hunger

Study links maternal height to children's health outcomes

Reuters examines uneven economic growth, welfare programs in India

Opinion: After health reform, U.S. should focus on responding to global health needs

Penn State professor proposes new strategy to improve adult malnutrition

News outlets report on food crisis in Sahel region of Africa

EDNOS categorization for young people needs to be reconsidered

ICRC will nearly triple aid to combat food shortages, drought in Niger and Mali

IPS examines malnutrition, obesity in Latin America

Socially deprived children appear to benefit from foster care

European Commission rolls out new food security policies; Agricultural Research Conference concludes

Hormone ghrelin may improve appetite in gastric cancer patients

Renewed set of national policy guidelines to control diarrhoeal disease in Kenya

Surgery helps reduce weight from 118 kg to 62.8 kg

Wave of violence and turmoil in Iraq lead to deterioration of linear growth of children

Ontario's budget to eliminate $250 dietary allowance available to ill recipients

U.N. official calls report on WFP in Somalia 'misleading'; WFP discusses plans to ramp up food aid to Niger, Uganda

Recent releases in Global Health

Farmers, aid groups call attention to drought, food shortages in West Africa

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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