What is Malnutrition: Side effects of overweight and underweight

What is malnutrition?

Malnutrition is defined as a pathological state resulting from a relative or absolute deficiency or excess of one or more essential nutrients. Malnutrition is a man-made disease. It is a disease of human societies. It begins in the womb and ends in the grave.

It comprises four forms.

1. Undernutrition

2. Overnutrition

3. Imbalance nutrition

4. Specific deficiency of nutrition

Two extreme conditions of health are overweight and underweight. These two health conditions are very frequently seen in our society. Both of these health conditions are developed as a result of not taking proper care of diet whatever we are eating. Few people used to overeat unbalanced diet and on the other hand people of low socioeconomic background hardly gathering food for their family members are often underweight. Both these conditions are not included in the category of satisfactory health and result in lots of secondary health hazards due to an unbalanced diet. 
Lack of consciousness regarding health is the major factor for bad health. 
If you are knowing the heath biometry like weight for height while taking age and sex into consideration. then you can easily calculate the body mass index (BMI).

What is body mass index (BMI)?

BMI is an estimation of an individual's leanness or bulkiness dependent on their stature and weight and is expected to evaluate tissue mass. It is broadly utilized as an overall pointer of whether an individual has a healthy body weight for their height. In particular, the worth acquired from the computation of BMI is utilized to classify whether an individual is underweight, typical weight, overweight, or corpulent relying upon what range the worth falls between. These scopes of BMI fluctuate dependent on components like locality and age and are in some cases additionally isolated into subcategories, for example, seriously underweight or seriously fat. Being overweight or underweight can have huge wellbeing impacts, so while BMI is a flawed proportion of sound body weight, it is a helpful marker of whether any extra testing or activity is required. Now it is very important to know the normal range of BMI so that you can take action regarding your health.

What are the range of BMI for adults, both men, and women?

This is the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended body weight based on BMI values for adults. It is used for both men and women, age 18 or older.

Category                              BMI range - kg/m2

Severe Thinness                              < 16

Moderate Thinness                      16 - 17

Mild Thinness                              17 - 18.5

Normal                                        18.5 - 25

Overweight                                  25 - 30

Obese Class I                              30 - 35

Obese Class II                             35 - 40

Obese Class III                                > 40

What are the side effects of being overweight?

Overweight

Obesity is one of the worldwide health problems. In western countries, the prevalence of obesity and overweight people is outnumbered. In the more developed countries of the world, nutritional problems are somewhat different. Overnutrition is encountered much more frequently than undernutrition.  In India because of fast lifestyle changes, the urbanization of small kasbah, and the development of modern technologies are the leading causes of obesity. There are so many underlying causes of overweight. Sedentary lifestyle, habits of eating junk food instead of homemade fresh and healthy food, habits of overeating, foodie habits of children are a few of them. 
Being overweight increases the danger of a variety of diseases and health conditions. 
Following is a list of said risks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

1. High blood pressure:-

Overweight and obese peoples are more prone to develop health hazards like the high range of blood pressure, particularly diastolic blood pressure.

2. Type II diabetes:-

Higher levels of LDL cholesterol, which is widely considered "bad cholesterol". Lower levels of HDL cholesterol, are considered to be good cholesterol. and high levels of triglycerides are the root cause of diabetes mellitus type 2.

3. Cardiovascular diseases:-

Coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain renal diseases develop in obese individuals.

4. Liver diseases:-

Fatty infiltration of the liver, in which there is a heavy deposition of fat occurs in hepatocytes leading to hepatitis and jaundice.

5. Gallbladder disease:-

Gallbladder stones are also known as cholelithiasis developed in overweight obese people which may lead to cholecystitis and pancreatitis, the inflammation of the gallbladder and pancreas.

6. Osteoarthritis:- 

Osteoarthritis is a type of joint disease caused by the breakdown of joint cartilage and decreased synovial fluid inside the joints of bone. Body pains and difficulty with certain physical functions develop due to the restricted mobility of joints.

7. Sleep apnea and breathing problems:-

8. Cancers:-

Overweight peoples are more vulnerable to developing a few cancers like endometrial, breast, colon, kidney, gallbladder, liver, etc.

9. Low quality of life:-

Low living style and low quality of life are seen in underweight people. 

10. Mental illnesses:- 

Overweight peoples are more prone to get mental problems like depressive disorder, anxiety, low mood, and decreased self-esteem and enthusiasm. 

What are the side effects of being underweight?

Underweight

Underweight is the main cause of the increased death rate in the poor ranked developing and underdeveloped countries of the world like few African countries and communities leading a life in low socioeconomic conditions. It has many hazards regarding health. Being underweight has its associated risks and diseases, listed below:

1. Undernutrition:- 

Pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition or undernutrition. Undernutrition leads to the deficiency of vitamins, nutrients, and energy.

2. Osteoporosis:-

Osteoporosis is caused due to deficiency of calcium and vitamin D  and a deficiency of female sex hormone estrogen. In the disease osteoporosis, the bone density is decreased causing bone weakness, increasing the danger of breaking a bone.

3. Decreased immunity of body:-

The immunity function of the body against the pathogen is decreased in underweight people which lead to causes of many bacterial infectious diseases like tuberculosis, viral infections, etc. 

4. Growth and development:-

Decreased growth and development are the major health issues, particularly in children and teenagers. In females, late menarchy and irregular menstruation occur in underweight teenagers. Low BMI is frequently seen in underweight children.

5.  Miscarriage or abortion:-

Underweight women even have a better chance of miscarriage within the first trimester of pregnancy. This is maybe due to low level of Mullerian hormone and progesterone etc

6. Hormonal imbalance:-

Thyroid dysfunction and decreased growth and development are due to deficiency of growth hormone in children. Possible reproductive issues for ladies are due to hormonal imbalances which will disrupt the menstruation cycle and late menarchy.

7. Effects on females:-

Early menopause comes in underweight women. Irregular menstruation is also frequently encountered in underweight women. Infertility in reproductive age groups is one of the leading causes in underweight women. 

8. Anaemia:-

Anaemia is the low percentage of haemoglobin in the blood. This is due to the deficiency of haematopoetic factors. Iron, Vitamin B12, Folic acid, and pyridoxine have a major role in blood synthesis. 

9. Premature giving birth of a baby:-

A premature low birth weight baby is the result of an underweight mother. It is a serious condition for the baby. Low birth weight babies are more prone to infectious diseases and jaundice. Hypoglycemia is also one of the leading causes of death. 

10. Potential complications as a result of surgery:-

In some cases, being underweight is often a symbol of some underlying condition or disease like anorexia, which has its risks. 

What is the normal range of BMI?

Generally, an increased risk of mortality compared to those with a healthy BMI. So, an individual should attempt to maintain a BMI between the normal range that is 18.5 to 25 kg/m2. 

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