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.

Inflammatory bowel disease in children - Delays in diagnosis common

Once a medical rarity in children, inflammatory bowel disease today is increasingly common in kids, but many of them may not be diagnosed in a timely manner, according to experts from the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

28 Mar 2011

Study finds that 25% of health messages in school text books lack scientific evidence

Most school text books contain messages about health, but 24.6% of these are not based on any scientific evidence, according to a study by the Knowledge Management Unit at Baza Hospital (Granada), published in the journal BMC Public Health.

25 Mar 2011

U.S., World Bank sign MOU to enhance efforts to bring clean water, sanitation to world's poor

Marking World Water Day Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on behalf of the U.S. government, joined World Bank President Robert Zoellick in signing a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance collaborative efforts between the groups to improve water and sanitation conditions for the world's poor, the Epoch Times reports.

24 Mar 2011

Gastroenterologist directs new Crohn's and Colitis Program at UT Southwestern

Dorothy Stockstill was taking eight pills a day, and her severe abdominal pain and persistent diarrhea weren't improving. The Denton resident had seen multiple physicians throughout the Dallas area. Her attacks were so severe, she couldn't successfully travel from the front of a retail store to the restrooms in back.

23 Mar 2011

Researchers can grow and manipulate personalized gut microbes in laboratory

Each of us carries a unique collection of trillions of friendly microbes in our intestines that helps break down food our bodies otherwise couldn't digest.

22 Mar 2011

Hospital meals cost less than prison meals: Official UK report

In shocking news some British hospitals are reported to be spending as little as £1 a meal, compared with £2.10 for the average prison meal. The official figures show that the spending on hospital food has been slashed by up to two-thirds over the last five years. In some hospitals in England budgets have fallen by 62 per cent – with meals costing little more than £1.

21 Mar 2011

Nutrition experts gather at WHO headquarters to discuss ways to fight malnutrition

As world nutrition experts gather this week at the WHO headquarters to discuss ways to fight global malnutrition, VOA News examines the growing issues of "undernutrition and obesity, which affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide."

18 Mar 2011

USAID-India fund AIP project to increase food security, agricultural production

Could you live on $1.25 per day? In parts of India-specifically the less developed states of the Indo-Gangetic Plains-living on less than $1.25 per day per capita is a harsh reality. People in this region face problems of hunger, poverty and child malnutrition.

11 Mar 2011

House Foreign Affairs Committee hears testimony on security, human rights, health in Democratic Republic of Congo

At a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing on Tuesday, Ben Affleck, the actor, writer and director, and "other witnesses urged the Obama administration to immediately appoint a special envoy" for the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is due for a national election in November, CNN reports.

10 Mar 2011

Also in global health news: Rights abuses in Myanmar; Indian malnutrition; Mali Global Fund grant; shift in USAID's programs in Afghanistan; Gates Foundation grant for vaccines

Human Rights Abuses Impacting Health Situation In Parts Of Myanmar, Study Says.

9 Mar 2011

PHS announces result of OSHPD data on malnutrition rates at all of state's hospitals

Prime Healthcare Services, California's leading healthcare provider and one of the nation's top for-profit healthcare systems, today announced the result of a detailed review of California's 2009 Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Data on malnutrition rates at all of the state's hospitals.

8 Mar 2011

Anacor and iOWH establish research agreement to identify new drugs for shigellosis

Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ANAC) and the Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH) today announced the establishment of a joint research agreement to discover antibacterial compounds for treating shigellosis.

8 Mar 2011

Scientists discover how change in growth hormone activity leads to fatty liver disease

Scientists at the UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute have discovered how a change in growth hormone activity in mice leads to fatty liver disease, a condition whose human counterpart is of rising concern worldwide.

2 Mar 2011

Study: Fish oil may prevent muscle and weight loss in cancer patients during chemotherapy

A new analysis has found that supplementing the diet with fish oil may prevent muscle and weight loss that commonly occurs in cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that fish oil may help combat cancer-related malnutrition.

28 Feb 2011

Study investigates risk of dysphagia after radiotherapy treatment for head & neck cancer

At the 3rd International Conference on innovative approaches in Head and Neck Oncology (ICHNO), Dr Hanna Rahbek Mortensen and colleagues at hospitals and institutes in Denmark presented results from a large prospective trial, the DAHANCA 6 & 7 study. The study, conducted across the country, investigated risk factors for developing dysphagia (swallowing dysfunction), after undergoing radiotherapy treatment for a head & neck cancer.

25 Feb 2011

Michigan State University secures $7.9 million award to improve food security in Mozambique

Michigan State University has secured a $7.9 million award to improve agriculture and food security in Mozambique through increasing the African nation's agricultural productivity, creating economic opportunities and enhancing nutrition.

24 Feb 2011

Roundup: Calif. hospital's unusual Medicare billing; Tenn. gastric bypass; Mass. Acos

Redding, where the Valley meets Cascade foothills, and Victorville, in the Mojave Desert, have little in common but an unusual statistic: In each city, a hospital has reported alarming rates of a Third World nutritional disorder among its Medicare patients. Kwashiorkor - a Ghanaian word for "weaning sickness" - is a severe protein deficiency that almost exclusively afflicts impoverished children in developing countries, especially during famines, experts say.

23 Feb 2011

SEIU's allegation concerning malnutrition rates is baseless, say Prime Healthcare hospitals

The February 19, 2011 article written by reporters from California Watch repeats SEIU's allegation that Prime Healthcare hospitals use a diagnosis of malnutrition to increase reimbursement.

22 Feb 2011

World Bank highlights significant food price rises

"Rising food prices pushed tens of millions of people into extreme poverty last year and are reaching 'dangerous levels' in some countries, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Tuesday as he released new data showing that the cost of grain and other staples is near a historic high," the Washington Post reports (Schneider, 2/15).

17 Feb 2011

Australian research reveals more than 70% of hospital patients are malnourished

Many elderly Australians are either admitted to hospital suffering malnutrition, or become malnourished while in hospital, which increases hospital length of stay and health care costs.

8 Feb 2011