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.

'Political will' needed to implement solutions for long-term food security challenges

"This month, President Obama's Feed the Future initiative received a $1 billion pledge from U.S. organizations to address the root causes of hunger and poverty," Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) writes in the Huffington Post's "Politics" blog, noting, "This pledge came on the heels of a $4 billion pledge by more than 60 companies from Africa and other continents."

6 Oct 2012

New spontaneous genetic mutations play a significant role in schizophrenia

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified dozens of new spontaneous genetic mutations that play a significant role in the development of schizophrenia, adding to the growing list of genetic variants that can contribute to the disease.

4 Oct 2012

Rising rates of obesity lead to increases in bariatric surgery

With rising rates of morbid obesity, the number of bariatric surgery procedures is likely to increase as well, reports a paper in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

3 Oct 2012

World Food Programme warns of hunger threat in Yemen

"Nearly half of Yemenis go to bed hungry every night as political instability compounds a global food and fuel price surge, giving the Arabian Peninsula state the world's third-highest rate of child malnutrition, the World Food Programme [WFP] said on Sunday," Reuters reports.

2 Oct 2012

Examining the intersection between nutrition and agriculture

In the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Leslie Elder, a senior nutrition specialist at the World Bank, and Yurie Tanimichi Hoberg, a senior economist at the World Bank, write about the intersection of policies and programs in nutrition and agriculture, saying they "are not always closely coordinated."

2 Oct 2012

Researchers track spread of human invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella in sub-Saharan Africa

A new study out today (Sunday 30 September) reveals that the emergence and spread of a rapidly evolving invasive intestinal disease, that has a significant mortality rate (up to 45%) in infected people in sub-Saharan Africa, seems to have been potentiated by the HIV epidemic in Africa.

1 Oct 2012

Blogs examine efforts to improve global food security

In this post on the State Department's "DipNote" blog, Jonathan Shrier, acting special representative for food security, discusses an event, co-hosted on Thursday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Malawi President Joyce Banda, "to highlight both the progress made in the last three years under Feed the Future and the contributions of civil society organizations to advance our food security goals."

29 Sep 2012

U.N. meetings focus on improving nutrition among women, children

Political and private sector leaders met on Thursday at a High-Level Meeting on Scaling Up Nutrition, held in New York on the sidelines of the 67th U.N. General Assembly session, the U.N. News Centre reports.

29 Sep 2012

Human rights most important factor in combating global hunger, report says

"Human rights are the most powerful tool to ensure efforts against hunger and malnutrition tackle structural causes and are not reduced to short-term strategies, civil society groups said in a report published on Tuesday," the Guardian reports.

29 Sep 2012

ACS, AGS issue new guidelines for pre-operative care of elderly patients

New comprehensive guidelines for the pre-operative care of the nation's elderly patients have been issued by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Geriatrics Society (AGS).

28 Sep 2012

Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mozambique join new alliance for food security and nutrition

Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Mozambique have joined the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, which, launched earlier this year by the G8, is aimed at boosting food security and addressing malnutrition in Africa, VOA News reports.

28 Sep 2012

Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health receives $20 billion in new money

The Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health has received about $20 billion in new money, according to a new report from The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH).

28 Sep 2012

PRI examines India's efforts to combat malnutrition using local product

PRI's "The World" reports on malnutrition in India, where "eight million children ... suffer from severe acute malnutrition, according to the Indian government." However, the news service writes that "when it comes to treating those children, India lacks what many consider one of the best tools available: so-called ready-to-use therapeutic foods," such as "the most well-known therapeutic food, Plumpy'Nut, ... a patented concoction of peanut butter and micro-nutrients that allows severely malnourished children to be treated at home instead of at a hospital."

26 Sep 2012

UH Case Medical Center offers per-oral endoscopic myotomy for achalasia

University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center is one of five institutions nationwide performing a novel scarless procedure that restores swallowing function in some patients with achalasia, a rare condition where the esophagus is unable to move food into the stomach.

25 Sep 2012

Joint report calls for action on child nutrition in countries with highest numbers of malnourished children

"Countries with the highest numbers of malnourished children urgently need to step up the way they respond to the problem in order to prevent millions of unnecessary deaths, according to a joint report," titled the "Nutrition Barometer" and released on Friday by Save the Children and World Vision, AlertNet reports.

25 Sep 2012

Sudanese refugee camps see improvement in water, food provisions, but concerns remain over disease threats, overcrowding

"Aid agencies say water and food provision has improved in four camps housing more than 105,000 refugees from Sudan's Blue Nile State, but flooding, disease and an influx of additional refugees pose new threats," IRIN reports, noting, "Sudan's government forces and rebels have been fighting in Blue Nile State since September 2011, sending refugees south."

25 Sep 2012

Risk for cardiovascular disease begins early in life

A new multi-national survey reveals the extent of misconceptions about when is the right time to start taking action to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). In a four-country survey sample of 4,000 adults, 49 per cent answered age 30 years or older when asked at what age they believe people should start to take action about their heart health to prevent conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

24 Sep 2012

Antiwasting supplements provide moderate improvements in child health

Study results show that ready-to-use supplementary food, provided to children at risk for malnutrition as part of a general food distribution program, does not significantly improve child weight.

20 Sep 2012

Health experts warn of linkages between climate change, increased malnutrition

"Malnutrition is likely to be the most serious health threat linked to climate shifts in the coming decades, as farmers struggle to cope with more unpredictable weather, ... epidemiologist Kris Ebi warned during a recent World Health Organization (WHO) briefing on adapting health systems to climate shifts," AlertNet reports.

20 Sep 2012

Maya Angelou Center to hold summit on issues that affect women and girls' health

The Maya Angelou Center for Women's Health and Wellness at Forsyth Medical Center announced today it will hold a three-day international summit focusing on contemporary issues affecting women's and girls' health beginning Thursday, September 27 through Saturday, September 29.

18 Sep 2012