malnutrition
(mal″noo-tri′shŏn )
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Any disease-promoting condition due to either an inadequate or an excessive exposure to nutrients, i.e., undernutrition or overnutrition. Common causes of malnutrition are inadequate calorie consumption; inadequate intake of essential vitamins, minerals, or other micronutrients; improper absorption and distribution of foods within the body; overeating; and intoxication by nutrient excesses. SEE TABLE: Physical Signs of Malnutrition; and names of specific nutritional disorders, e.g., obesity, pellegra, scurvy.
Worldwide, malnutrition is a disease that results typically from inadequate consumption of foods, esp. proteins, iron, and vitamins. In industrialized nations, overnutrition is more common than undernutrition. In the U.S., 50% of the population is considered to be overweight, and 22% have a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2 and are obese. Undernutrition in Western nations typically results from poverty, alcoholism, chronic illnesses, or extreme dieting.
Physical Signs of Malnutrition
| Infants and Children | Adolescents and Adults |
| Lack of subcutaneous fat | Nasolabial sebaceous plugs |
| Wrinkling of skin on light stroking | Sores at angles of mouth, cheilosis |
| Poor muscle tone | Vincent's angina |
| Pallor | Minimal changes in tongue color or texture |
| Rough skin (toad skin) | Red, swollen lingual papillae |
| Hemorrhage of newborn, vitamin K deficiency | Glossitis |
| Bad posture | Papillary atrophy of tongue |
| Nasal area is red and greasy | Stomatitis |
| Sores at angles of mouth, cheilosis | Spongy, bleeding gums |
| Rapid heartbeat | Muscle tenderness in extremities |
| Red tongue | Poor muscle tone |
| Square head, wrists enlarged, rib beading | Loss of vibratory sensation |
| Vincent's angina, thrush | Increase or decrease of tendon reflexes |
| Serious dental abnormalities | Hyperesthesia of skin |
| Corneal and conjunctival changes | Purpura |
| Dermatitis: facial butterfly, perineal, scrotal, vulval | |
| Thickening and pigmentation of skin over bony prominences | |
| Nonspecific vaginities | |
| Follicular hyperkeratosis of extensor surfaces of extremities | |
| Rachitic chest deformity | |
| Anemia not responding to iron | |
| Fatigue of visual accommodation | |
| Vascularization of cornea | |
| Conjunctival changes |
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