By 2023, one in eleven people on the planet will be hungry. The phenomenon of malnutrition also exists in the Western world. What’s behind it?
Poverty and war are the most common reasons why people go hungry. Since 1979, October 16th has been the so-called World Hunger Day, proclaimed by the UN. According to their information, around 733 million people will be hungry in 2023 – one in eleven people on the planet. Almost 30 percent did not have regular access to sufficient food.
But malnutrition is not just a problem in developing countries. Seniors in the Western world are also often affected by it. One in seven older adults living at home and up to half of older adults in care facilities are malnourished. What is behind the phenomenon?
Everyone knows the feeling of hunger: the stomach growls, feels empty, concentration and performance decrease. The trigger is the drop in blood sugar levels. Purely biologically, it is a calorie deficit. To put it simply: the body consumes more calories than it can consume.
The feeling of hunger is part of drive control and arises in the brain, more precisely in the hypothalamus. The insulin level and the existing fat reserves are registered there and the deficit is reported. During the acute hunger phase, the stress hormone adrenaline is released in the adrenal glands to enable the body to mobilize strength to search for food.
The distinction from the feeling of appetite is not entirely clear. However, appetite is more likely to be experienced as a positive feeling. However, constant hunger leads to malnutrition – with fatal consequences.
Malnutrition progresses in stages. First, the body breaks down its own fat reserves. The tissue of the muscles and internal organs is then attacked, which can have serious health consequences. Each organ shrinks during starvation to half its original weight before death occurs. This can last up to three months, with the person losing around a quarter of their body weight in the first month. If the starvation period lasts a long time, adults can lose up to half of their body weight and children can lose even more. External signs are protruding boils, the skin becomes thin, dry, inelastic, pale and cold.
In the final stage, the fat on the face is also reduced, the cheeks appear hollow and the eyes sunken. Starving people experience liver failure, heart failure or shortness of breath, often resulting in death. The immune system also suffers from the lack of calorie intake. The number of white blood cells decreases and makes the starving person more susceptible to infectious diseases such as malaria or cholera.
Malnutrition is particularly fatal in the first 1,000 days of life. The consequences lead to limited development opportunities, reduced learning performance at school and lower work performance in adulthood.
Malnutrition can also be observed in the Western world, especially among old people. There are various reasons for this. On the one hand, muscle mass decreases with age, and the sense of smell and taste diminishes, which reduces the joy of eating. Seniors also have less appetite and feel fuller more quickly. And certain illnesses can also increase the risk of malnutrition, such as depression or dementia, and dental problems or cancer often lead to inadequate nutrient absorption.
In addition, certain medications (such as those for high blood pressure, heart failure, and depression) can contribute to malnutrition because they increase the need for nutrients, but these are not met. Some medications cause diarrhea or have side effects such as nausea or constipation.
Residents of nursing homes and people in clinics appear to be particularly affected. Nursing facility residents are often confused and unable to report when they are hungry. Sometimes the nursing staff does not have enough time to feed the seniors or the people are no longer able to eat themselves.
It is recommended for seniors to focus on particularly aromatic dishes and to let them choose their favorite dishes. Appetite stimulating medications can also help. And if the person can no longer shop themselves, food deliveries should definitely be considered. Your family doctor can be a contact person here.