Nutritional Status Assessment and Analysis
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     Introduction
                                      What are the factors affecting 
                                     an individual’s nutritional status?
                               Understanding these factors is essential in 
                               order to:
                                 assess malnutrition, 
                                 design programmes which tackle nutrition  
                                
                                  problems, and 
                                 correctly inform programme management   
                                   
                                  and evaluation.
  Nutritional Status Assessment and Analysis
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     What is malnutrition?
             The term malnutrition indicates a bad nutritional status.
          Nutritional status is the physiological state of an individual, 
          which results from:
            the relationship between nutrient intake and requirements, and 
            the body’s ability to digest, absorb and use these nutrients.
  Nutritional Status Assessment and Analysis
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     What is malnutrition?
    A distinction must be made between Malnutrition and Undernutrition:
                                                It arises either:
                                          from deficiencies or excesses of 
               Malnutrition                   specific nutrients, or
                                          from undiversified diets (wrong 
                                         kinds or proportions of foods).
                                      It is the outcome of insufficient food.
             Undernutrition                It is caused primarily by an 
                                      inadequate intake of dietary or food 
                                                    energy. 
  Nutritional Status Assessment and Analysis
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     What is malnutrition?
                                     In many developing countries, 
                                       under and overnutrition are 
                                    occurring simultaneously among 
                                      different population groups. 
                                 This phenomenon is referred to as the 
                                 “double burden” of malnutrition.
  Nutritional Status Assessment and Analysis
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    Causes of malnutrition
                                      Poverty is the root cause of 
                                             malnutrition.
                                    (The underlying causes are food 
                                       security, health and care). 
                                  However, overnutrition and dietary 
                                  imbalances cut across many socio-
                                  economic boundaries.