Nutritional status affects every aspect of a child’s health, including normal growth and development, physical activity, and response to serious illness. Malnutrition may originate from the deficiency or absence of any nutrient. The establishment and severity of malnutrition depends on the cause, intensity and duration of the nutritional deficiency. It can be caused, primarily, by an inadequate diet or, secondarily, by deficiency in gastrointestinal absorption and/or increase in demand, or even, by an excessive excretion of nutrients [12]. Protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM), also known as protein-energy malnutrition, is defined by the WHO as being a pathological condition that results from a lower ingestion of protein and calories, which occurs more frequently in children under five years of age.
Figure 1 shows the direct and indirect causes of malnutrition. It is important to reflect on the thoughts of Joaquin Cravioto, a prominent Mexican nutritionist: ―The basic origin of malnutrition is to be found in the malfunctioning of society as a whole and the accompanying injustices‖ [13].