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.

Can aquaculture reduce global malnutrition or is nutrient trade widening inequality?

Global aquaculture produces substantial essential nutrients, but international trade patterns often shift these nutrients away from nutritionally vulnerable countries. Modelling suggests alternative trade and fishmeal use strategies could improve micronutrient equity while highlighting important food system trade-offs.

11 Feb 2026

Stress hormones rewire immune system during periods of food scarcity

When food is scarce, stress hormones direct the immune system to operate in "low power" mode to preserve immune function while conserving energy, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

10 Feb 2026

Medical AI can repeat false claims in clinical contexts

Medical artificial intelligence (AI) is often described as a way to make patient care safer by helping clinicians manage information. A new study by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and collaborators confronts a critical vulnerability: when a medical lie enters the system, can AI pass it on as if it were true?

9 Feb 2026

Normal BMI hides nutritional gaps in alcohol use disorder

Researchers compare dietary intake, diet quality, and dietary assessment methods among individuals with alcohol use disorder.

4 Feb 2026

WHO collaborating center established to assess food risks and benefits

WHO has designated the DTU National Food Institute to host a new collaborating center, named "WHO Collaborating center for Risks and Benefits of Foods and Diets".

30 Jan 2026

WHO releases a new global guideline to create healthy school food environments

Healthy food in schools can help children develop healthy dietary habits for life, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which released a new global guideline on evidence-based policies and interventions to create healthy school food environments.

28 Jan 2026

Blood protein albumin identified as key defense against deadly black fungus

A new international study published in Nature has identified albumin, the most abundant protein in human blood, as a powerful and previously unrecognized defense against mucormycosis, a rare but often fatal fungal infection.

27 Jan 2026

A routine blood test may reveal who is most at risk of osteoporosis

A routine creatinine blood test may identify individuals at higher risk for osteoporosis and fractures, highlighting its potential as a risk assessment tool.

22 Jan 2026

Immune dysfunction persists after combined TB and HIV therapy

The immune system remains seriously out-of-whack – in an inflammatory state of overactivation and impaired functionality – following the international gold standard for treating people with latent tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, a team at Texas Biomedical Research Institute reports in Nature Communications.

14 Jan 2026

Dietary protein reshapes how cholera bacteria colonize the gut

Researchers investigate the role of dietary components and the gut microbiota in cholera.

13 Jan 2026

One thousand days of conflict push Sudan’s health system toward collapse

Today, the conflict in Sudan reaches its 1000th day, with over 20 million people requiring health assistance and 21 million desperately needing food.

12 Jan 2026

Asexual Giardia lineage spreads across hosts at the cost of survival

Australian researchers have uncovered how a particular strain of a diarrhea-causing parasite managed to infect more animal species, offering new insights into how parasitic infections emerge and spread to people.

6 Jan 2026

Increase in food prices can lead to stunted growth in children

When food prices skyrocket during an economic crisis, it is primarily urban populations and people with low levels of education who are affected.

2 Jan 2026

Early identification of nutrition risk in ICU patients using artificial intelligence

A new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could help predict which critically ill patients on ventilators are at risk of underfeeding,

22 Dec 2025

Mpox clade Ib transmitted in a healthcare setting outside Africa

Mpox is a viral disease usually transmitted from animals to humans and symptoms include fever and skin rashes. In 2023, a new variant of monkeypox virus (MPXV), called clade Ib, emerged in Kamituga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

19 Dec 2025

Orthorexia nervosa links strongly to perfectionism and OCD traits, review shows

This umbrella review synthesised five meta-analyses to estimate the reported prevalence of orthorexia nervosa and examine its psychological correlates. Findings show wide variability in prevalence estimates and consistent links with eating disorder symptoms, obsessive-compulsive traits, and perfectionistic strivings, limited by high methodological heterogeneity.

18 Dec 2025

Flu wave’s hidden cost on people with cystic fibrosis

People with cystic fibrosis (CF) are uniquely vulnerable to the flu wave currently ripping through the UK, a clinical researcher from The University of Manchester has warned.

18 Dec 2025

Climate shocks creating new pathways for disease across Africa

Climate shocks are reshaping ecosystems, creating new pathways for disease across Africa, writes Albert Ansah.

15 Dec 2025

New research reveals underestimation of food insecurity

Before you can address a problem, you need to understand its scope. That's why the United Nations developed the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification System. Aid organizations rely on analyses from this global partnership, which monitors and classifies the severity of food insecurity to help target assistance where and when it is most needed.

13 Dec 2025

Dietary restriction boosts antitumour immunity by rewiring T cell metabolism

Dietary restriction reshapes CD8+ T cell metabolism by increasing ketone body–driven acetyl-CoA production, preventing terminal exhaustion and enhancing tumour control in mice. This metabolic reprogramming also boosts responsiveness to PD-1 blockade, suggesting a potential strategy to improve cancer immunotherapy.

10 Dec 2025