Signs of malnutrition in children

Malnutrition in children can be detected when the baby is still in the womb, and is most common in children under five years old. Below are the signs of malnutrition in children that parents need to pay attention to in order to take the best care of their children.

Baby slow weight gain

For children from one to five years old, weight is the first indicator of whether the child is physically developing or not. When the child is one year old or older, height and weight indicators change more slowly than in the first months of life.

Therefore, parents often do not closely monitor their children's weight, or are negligent when their child's weight is stagnant, showing no signs of increasing. According to nutrition experts, children are considered at risk of malnutrition if they do not gain weight for three consecutive months.

Parents can monitor their child's monthly growth chart through weight and height indicators to self-assess their child's health status. The chart will have a standard weight measurement line. If the child's weight is below the standard line of the chart, the risk of malnutrition is very high.

If the problem of weight malnutrition is detected early, treatment will be very quick. But if left for a long time to become chronic malnutrition, the disease will affect height, and later when growing up, it will be very difficult to treat in the long term.

Children are slow to develop physically

Parents can easily detect this problem by monitoring their child's height and weight. Compare your child's index with the index in the weight and height chart of average children. Your child will be malnourished if his weight is 20% lighter than the standard. And malnourished if his height is 10% lower than the average height standard.

Especially in the first years of life, parents need to monitor their baby's developmental milestones such as rolling over, sitting, walking, talking, etc. to check whether they are age-appropriate or not.

The baby shows signs of fatigue, weakness, and lack of flexibility.

Children's meals during this golden period are also very important. If your child shows signs of anorexia, does not eat enough meals or does not finish the food portions according to age requirements, it is necessary to consider and find the cause to help your child eat well, sleep well, and fully supplement the child's energy needs for activities in a day.

In addition, health factors such as poor mobility, sleep disorders, and infectious diseases should not be ignored. These are also signs of malnutrition.

These are the signs that parents need to know when their children are malnourished. If you have any concerns, you should see a doctor for advice and the best care for your child, helping your child catch up with the growth of children of the same age..

According to VNN