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.

Better-educated women have healthier average weight

A new comparison of multi-national data, released this month, reveals that highly educated women have a healthier average weight than less educated women, but that the meaning of "healthier" changes according to a nation's relative wealth. In countries where malnutrition is prevalent, better-educated women weigh more. But in wealthier countries - with rapidly growing rates of obesity - better-educated women weigh less.

30 Apr 2008

Extreme nausea and vomiting varies among pregnant women from different countries

Mothers born in India and Sri Lanka are three times more likely to suffer from extreme nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (hyperemesis gravidarum) than ethnic Norwegians.

27 Apr 2008

Global food price increase forces World Vision to scale back food aid program

One of the world's largest humanitarian organizations has announced it can no longer provide food to 1.5 million of the 7.5 million poor it fed last year.

23 Apr 2008

FDA approves Cimzia as treatment for Crohn's disease

A new drug has been approved to help sufferers of Crohn's disease, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today. Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) received approval for adults with moderate to severe Crohn's disease who have not responded to conventional therapies. This product was approved with a Medication Guide.

22 Apr 2008

Urgent action needed against global food crisis

Life scientists from the developing world told their European colleagues at the EAGLES Food Symposium, held this week at the New Library of Alexandria (Egypt), that they are dismayed and even horrified at the persistent failure of Europe to deploy its life sciences effectively in the fight against hunger. Our Asian, African and Latin American colleagues have said that they simply cannot understand why that on the continent of Darwin and Pasteur, the voices of science and reason have been devalued.

18 Apr 2008

Climate change and human health

Scientists tell us that the evidence the Earth is warming is "unequivocal." Increases in global average air and sea temperature, ice melting and rising global sea levels all help us understand and prepare for the coming challenges.

7 Apr 2008

Healthcare providers who discuss intimate piercings earn patients' trust

On April 2, 2008, UC San Diego Medical Center-Hillcrest celebrated the opening of an expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) designed for the 24-hour specialized care of premature infants and newborns with complications.

4 Apr 2008

Sixty-two per cent of Africans do not have access to a proper toilet

Sixty-two per cent of Africans do not have access to an improved sanitation facility -- a proper toilet -- which separates human waste from human contact, according to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation.

24 Mar 2008

Protein shortens life but leads to more children

The key to longevity is eating less protein - and not just fewer calories, as has previously been thought - scientists have discovered. But the catch is that while cutting protein may help you live longer, it may mean you'll have fewer children.

17 Feb 2008

Could a simple vitamin A and zinc supplement help protect young children from malaria?

A randomized double blind trial reported in the open access publication, Nutrition Journal, would suggest the answer is yes.

7 Feb 2008

Malnourishment in young mothers and their babies has consequences well beyond infant health and mortality

Maternal and child under-nutrition have a life-long impact on the health and prospects of the child, potentially affecting future generations.

28 Jan 2008

Climate change will have a huge impact on human health

Climate change will have a huge impact on human health and bold environmental policy decisions are needed now to protect the world's population, according to the author of an article published in the BMJ today.

25 Jan 2008

One third of stunting and a quarter of deaths among under 3s in poor countries could be prevented

If existing maternal and child nutrition interventions were implemented in poor countries, cases of stunting among under 3s could be reduced by a third, and deaths by up to a quarter, according to new research being published today.

24 Jan 2008

Researchers identify a means of controlling a parasite that kills and eats human cells

Researchers from the University of Virginia and the University of Vermont have discovered a means of inhibiting one of the world's most voracious parasites.

21 Jan 2008

FDA approves Tysabri to treat Crohn's disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Tysabri (natalizumab) for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease in patients with evidence of inflammation who have had an inadequate response to, or are unable to tolerate, conventional Crohn's disease therapies.

14 Jan 2008

Lung transplants do more harm than good to children with cystic fibrosis

Lung transplantation, the therapy almost every cystic fibrosis patient (CF) considers at some point to prolong survival, rarely helps children with the disease live longer and, in fact, often increases their risk of dying, University of Utah researchers conclude in the most extensive study of the issue to date.

21 Nov 2007

U.N., Google, Cisco Systems launch web site aimed at providing data on Millennium Development Goals

The United Nations, Google and Cisco Systems on Thursday launched a Web site aimed at providing data and information on global efforts to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.

5 Nov 2007

POZ examines HIV/AIDS in U.S. south

POZ in its November issue examined HIV/AIDS in the U.S. South. The South -- which includes 14 states and Washington, D.C. -- accounts for 45% of new U.S. HIV cases and 50% of all AIDS-related deaths, according to CDC. Seven of the 10 states with the highest AIDS rates also are located in the South, and an increasing number of people living with the disease reside in the region.

31 Oct 2007

New diet guidance for those suffering dysphagia

Research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is leading to potentially lifesaving changes for patients suffering from dysphagia, or swallowing difficulty.

24 Oct 2007

Protecting health from climate change

As momentum for action on climate change continues to grow, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that it will focus its World Health Day 2008 theme on “protecting health from climate change.”

24 Oct 2007