Malnutrition in Children

Written by: Abdul Mutalib Jawad

Malnutrition is one of the most common diseases in children under five years of age. Malnutrition is a serious condition that happens when the diet does not contain the right amount of nutrients. It means poor nutrition.

 Malnutrition can lead to obesity or weight loss. Prolonged malnutrition can weaken the intellect and reduce creativity, but what problems do malnourished children face? AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some mothers and a physician about this disease.

A mother, who doesn’t want to mention her name in the program says, “My child is five years old, and he is malnourished, does not gain weight, has no appetite; when he walks, he gets tired soon.”

A woman says, “My child is malnourished. He catches a cold soon and his skin is completely wrinkled.”

Doctor Noorrahman Burhan, child and malnutrition specialist at the Child Health Hospital in Kabul city says, “In the first type of malnutrition, when you pull the skin of a malnourished child skin will remain wrinkled, and you will sense only the bone.

In the second type, the patient’s hands are thin but his feet have swellings and in the third type of malnutrition, the upper part of the body is thin but the legs are swollen.
Malnourished children have no appetite.

Their hair is like nylon and when you pull them, they fall out and the back of them becomes like abrasive paper. They catch colds early, and as their bodies are less resistant to germs, they are more prone to diarrhea and other illnesses and have a high mortality rate.”

What do some people think about the causes of malnutrition?

Muhammad Ali says, “My wife's milk was too low to breastfeed her baby, so we gave the baby milk powder and he became malnourished.”

A mother thinks that the injection caused malnutrition in her baby.

Doctor Burhan says, “There might be some reasons for malnutrition: Low family economy; mothers and their children cannot eat nutritious food. Mothers do not have enough information about when and how to feed and what to eat to increase their milk.

Some superstitions also play a role. For example, some people prevent giving eggs to babies and say that eating eggs causes children to become dumb, and some other factors cause children to be malnourished.

What do some people do to reduce the risks of malnutrition?

A mother from the north of Kabul province says, “My ninth-month-old granddaughter was malnourished. I took her to the clinic; the doctor prescribed some medicines for him. I gave him medicines on time and prepared some vegetable soup for her, and now she has recovered from malnutrition."

Another woman says, “My child was malnourished; his hands were very small; he could not even cry. The doctor advised us to feed him after every ten minutes. I had been preparing him vegetable soup mixed with chicken and he recovered from malnutrition.”

Doctor Burhan says, “Parents should take their malnourished children to a health clinic. They should feed them boiled eggs and boiled potatoes. Prefer boiled food and avoid fatty ones.
The mothers should give their children almonds, walnuts, biscuits, dates, sometimes cheese and breastfeed them every hour.”