Nutrition and Global Health
Amount of total deaths in low and middle income countries directly due to undernutrition
0.5%
Percent of DALYs lost in low and middle income countries related to iron deficiency anemia
0.7%
Number of people affected by anemia between 1993 and 2005
1.6 billion
Amount of babies in low and middle income countries born low birthweight
11%
Number of children that suffer from vitamin A deficiency worldwide
250 million
According to most recent estimates, how many under-5 children are underweight worldwide?
26%
Percent of DALYs lost in low and middle income countries due to low birthweight
3%
Percent of DALYs lost in children under 5 due to zinc deficiency
4%
Percent of all deaths of children under-5 in low and middle income countries that are due to vitamin A deficiency
6.5%
Number of people worldwide affected by iodine deficiency
70 million
Low level of hemoglobin in the blood, as evidenced by a reduced quality or quantity of red blood cells
Anemia
What is the international reference for classifying an individual as obese?
BMI greater than 30
How is undernutrition measured for adults?
BMI less than 18.5
What is the reference for classifying an individual as overweight?
BMI of 25-29.99
Body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared
Body mass index
How is nutritional status of infants and children gauged?
By measuring and weighing them, then plotting weight and height on growth chart
Foods that can be harmful to adults
Containing too much fat, cholesterol, sugar or salt
What are some of the cost effective interventions that can help to reverse malnutrition?
Education Food fortification Exclusive breast feeding for first 6 months
Infants grow best and stay healthiest if exclusively breastfed for how long?
First 6 months
What do iron-deficient pregnant women have an increased risk of?
Giving birth to a premature or low birthweight baby or hemorrhaging and dying in child birth
What is nutritional status intimately linked with?
Health status
What are the three most commonly used indexes for child undernutrition?
Height-for-age Weight-for-age Weight-for-height
How is stunting measured?
Height-for-age two z-scores below the international reference
Poor nutrition impacts maternal health, which affects what?
Household income and health of children
What does the child's position on growth curve indicate?
If they are developing normally
Makes it harder for people to eat, absorb the nutrients they take in, and raises the need for some nutrients
Illness
What does undernutrition cause increased risks for in children?
Illness and decreased intellectual capacity
"Window of opportunity"
In utero of two years of age
Weakens the body and opens it up to infection
Inadequate dietary intake
Immediate causes of malnutrition
Inadequate dietary intake Illness
Deficiency associated with a group on the thyroid called a goiter and the failure to develop full intellectual potential
Iodine
The spectrum includes goiter, hypothroidism, impaired mental function, stillbirths, abortions, congenital anomalies, and neurological cretinism
Iodine deficiency disorders
Deficiency causes iron deficiency anemia which is associated with fatigue and weakness
Iron
How does poor nutrition affect adult workers?
Leads to lower productivity
Birthweight less than 2500 grams
Low birthweight
Refers to those who do not get proper nutrition; whether too little, too much, or the wrong kind
Malnutrition
Various forms of poor nutrition. Underweight or stunting and overweight, as well as micronutrient deficiences are forms of this
Malnutrition
What is zinc deficiency a major risk factor for?
Morbidity and mortality from diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria
Impacts health and human development
Nutrition
The leading risk factor for loss of health in low and middle income countries
Nutrition
Excessive body fat content; commonly measured by BMI.
Obesity
Excess weight relative to height; commonly measured by BMI among adults
Overweight
Refers to those who are nourished to the point of being too heavy for their height or age
Overweight or obese
Who does iodine deficiency occur in?
People who live in mountainous regions where less seafood is consumed & the soil is deficient in iodine
What does undernutrition cause increased risks for in women?
Pregnancy-related death and delivering prematurely
What can nutritional gaps during infancy and young childhood cause?
Problems with stature and mental development Frequent infection
What do children need sufficient amounts of?
Protein and energy Iodine, iron, vitamin A, zinc
What do pregnant women need a sufficient amount of?
Protein and energy Iron, iodine, folate, zinc and calcium
Well-balanced diet necessary for adults
Protein, energy and iron
What does calcium in older adults do?
Reduces risk of osteoporosis
If fetuses do not get sufficient nutrition from their mother, what may they suffer from?
Stillbirth, mental impairment or birth defects
Failure to reach linear growth potential because of inadequate nutrition or poor health
Stunting
Poor nutrition affects children's ability to learn in school, which impacts what?
Their future prospects
Why is Vitamin A important?
To growth and the proper functioning of the immune system
Refers to those who lack sufficient energy or nutrients
Undernourished
Outcome of insufficient food intake and repeated infectious disease
Undernutrition
Poor nutrition
Undernutrition
Low weight-for-age; implies stunting of wasting and is an indicator of undernutrition
Underweight
Refers to those who have low weight for their height or age
Underweight
Deficiency associated with night blindness and eventually, permanent blindness
Vitamin A
Tissue concentrations of vitamin A low enough to have adverse health consequences such as increased morbidity and mortality, poor reproductive health, and slowed growth and development
Vitamin A deficiency
Weight, measured in kilograms, divided by height in meters squared
Wasting
How is overweight measured by children?
Weight-for-height two z-scores above the international reference
A statistical term, meaning the deviation of an individuals value from the median value of a reference population, divided by the standard deviation of the reference population
Z-score
Deficiency is associated with growth retardation, impaired immune function, skin disorders, hypogonadism, and cognitive dysfunction
Zinc
Second most important micronutrient responsible for death and DALYs in children under 5
Zinc
Iron deficiency is a substantial public health problem for who?
children under-5 and pregnant women