Malnutrition defined

Malnutrition is also difficult to define since it can cover many different diets. The term is normally reserved for... 

Skeletal fluorosis can be defined as excessive deposition of fluoride in bone. This is a pathological condition that is by far the most important aspect of chronic exposure to elevated levels of fluoride, either by inhalation or by ingestion. The skeletal deformities may be associated with or accentuated by nutritional deficiencies or even malnutrition and hard manual work or, possibly, other conditions found in areas of long-term social and nutritional deprivation [6]. See, for instance Fig. 1 of [54]. The situation is specific also for populations consuming large volumes of water, such as athletes or people with certain medical conditions or... 

In malnutrition, total serum protein, albumin, and p-glob-uhn concentrations are reduced. The increased concentration of Y-globuIin does not fully compensate for the decrease in other proteins. The concentrations of complement C3, retinol-binding globulin, transferrin, and prealbumin decrease rapidly with the onset of malnutrition and are measured to define the severity of the condition. The plasma concentrations of lipoproteins are reduced, and serum cholesterol and triglycerides may be only 50% of the concentrations in healthy individuals. In spite of severe malnutrition, glucose concentration is maintained close to that in healthy... 

Malnutrition is a complex disease, rarely characterized ty a well defined deficit of specific nutrients. For example, the protein composition of the diet often influences the trace element content. Differences between animal models, in which protein deficiency often stimulates cell-mediated immunity, and human studies, which have often indicated depressed cel 1-mediated immunity in protein restriction, can be rationalized by deficiencies of zinc which occur in protein-poor human diets. Consistent with this picture, most amino acid deficiencies exert less influence on the immune response than on overall growth rate (Hill, 1982). 

In addition to the vague area of subclinical malnutrition there is another area defined as covert malnutrition . The individual is perfectly well at the given level of nutrient intake until he is stressed his needs are then greater and deficiency manifests itself. 

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