HealthScapades #8 | Hey, Check Out That Malnourished Kid! | 08.08.2024
by Tayo Fasuan
When my brothers and I were young, preteen boys living in the Adebayo Area of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria, we were able to play with many other kids from our immediate and surrounding streets. Unlike other places we had stayed and would stay later with high fences and secured compounds, our house was located in a central compound, adjacent to the house of the late prominent Yoruba actor, Jimoh Aliu.
We saw, met, and/or played with children of our age group, younger or older, from all walks of life. And these interactions exposed me to many discoveries, which are proving useful now as an adult, especially those relating to malnutrition issues. As far as I know, kids in my compound were eating well, with my assumption based on the fact that most of us were from middle-class families who were comfortable enough to afford good meals. But not all the kids outside our compound were eating well. How did I know?
First, poverty. Poverty has been identified as the major cause of malnutrition, and there should be no debate about this. However, poverty doesn’t really appear as poverty until you start seeing the signs on the kids – those distinct signs of malnourished children, especially being underweight.
For instance, Alex (not the real name) was unhealthily skinny and always hungry and was usually the first person to withdraw from our games and plays because he would be feeling dizzy and devoid of energy, which was known among kids our age. And while the rest of us were chubby and fresh, the memory of Alex that I have is with sunken cheeks, bony necks and thin limbs.
Conversely, though, malnutrition cannot be easily identified by skinny bodies. Some of the other children we played with were built just like every other healthy child out there. Blessing and Ope were always initially energetic at the start of our games and plays, but they were significantly fatter than us, and they easily got tired and out of breath as well.
These big kids, whom I would later know to be obese, were showing evidence of being malnourished. As kids, we would think these kids were healthy and stronger than the rest of us, even getting a little wary of them because they could punish us by simply sitting on us. But now I knew they weren’t healthy. Obesity has long been identified as another form of malnutrition.
However, all the signs above might not even be the case. Segun and Shola, children of “Baba Oni Apple”, were some children that we knew weren’t eating properly, but for some reason, they were as strong as horses. They were always challenging us to fights, and we would do our very best to decline, lest we end up with bruises all over.
However, I know now that something was wrong when Segun had an injury that refused to heal, leading to a permanent deformity till the last time I saw him. Shola, too, was slow in learning, evident whenever we were doing mental exercises and learning games. I heard that she eventually dropped out of school.
Malnutrition is not only about being underweight but also about being overweight and lacking the essential nutrients that the body needs for good health, immunity, healing, brain development, and body strength. So, even eating tonnes of food cannot prevent being malnourished if essential foods with necessary nutrients are missing, basically balanced diets.
To date, all these are still happening in our communities, and we just need to be on the lookout for them as health workers, parents, or guardians. Keep a lookout for children with the stated malnourished signs around you, and help them seek medical help.