Wasting in children, what are the causes and how to deal with it?

Apart from stunting, underweight, as well as overweight, have you ever heard of losing? Wasting is a term used to describe nutritional and nutritional problems in children because they are not fulfilled enough. In order to better understand this condition, let's examine it thoroughly through the following reviews.

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What is the wasting pad condition for children?

Wasting is a condition when a child loses weight, is very underweight, or even falls below the normal range.

Children who experience this condition generally have less than ideal body proportions.

The reason is, this condition makes body weight not commensurate (thin) with height for children at a certain age.

WHO as the world health agency, states that wasting is one of the main health problems. Because this condition is directly related to the incidence of a disease (morbidity).

That is why losing in children is something that should not be underestimated so it requires attention and treatment as soon as possible.

Keep in mind that this condition usually occurs due to drastic weight loss due to insufficient daily nutritional needs of children.

Not only that, having one or several diseases can lead to weight loss. For example, indigestion, such as diarrhea, can also result in this condition.

The incidence of weight loss in children can also have a major impact on their current or future health conditions.

Generally, he becomes more susceptible to disease, even at risk of being fatal.

Apart from a health perspective, this condition also affects the intellectual abilities of children during their infancy.

When is a child said to have lost?

According to WHO, an indicator to assess the possibility of this condition in children is that body weight decreases rapidly while height (BB / TB) continues to increase.

Children are said to have this condition when the measurement results of the BB / TB indicator are at -3 to below -2 standard deviation (SD).

Moreover, children can also experience acute losing (severe acute malnutrition) when the BB / TB indicator shows a number below -3 SD.

That said, acute losing is a weight loss condition that is more severe than the usual condition.

Wasting is generally more experienced by children in the toddler age group. After passing that age, the risk of this condition in children will gradually decrease.

What are the symptoms of losing in children?

In general, this condition is characterized by a drastic weight loss that makes the child's body weight not proportional to their height.

That is why this condition, usually makes his body look very thin. In fact, not infrequently, to make the bones in the body stand out as if they were only wrapped directly by the skin.

Children who experience this condition also often feel very weak, which makes it difficult for them to do normal activities like children their age.

However, when the underweight condition in this child is not treated immediately, it can automatically develop more severe, resulting in acute wasting.

If the severity of the child's wasting has reached acute, several symptoms will appear as follows:

• The BB / TB indicator shows a number less than -3 SD
• Have fluid swelling (edema) in several parts of the body
• The circumference of the upper arm (LILA) tends to be small, usually less than 12.5 cm

If you do not get treatment as soon as possible, the condition of the weight loss at this severe level can get worse.

Do not rule out, it will result in malnutrition in children.

What causes losing in children?

As mentioned earlier, losing is a condition that occurs when a child's weight decreases rapidly.

This is generally caused by a combination of two factors, namely lack of nutrition and nutrition or the occurrence of infectious diseases.

Here are the various causes of losing in children:

• Less affordable or difficult access to health services, so parents are reluctant to check their children's health conditions.
• Providing daily food intake that does not meet the nutritional needs of children.

For example, exclusive breastfeeding, complementary foods, as well as solid food but with inadequate quantity and quality.

• Poor environmental cleanliness, including difficulty in accessing clean water and cleaning services.
• Lack of knowledge about children's nutrition and health.
• Very limited and less diverse choice of food sources.

How to deal with losing in children?

After it is stated that the weight has decreased drastically so that the child is getting thinner, treatment is an important thing that must be done immediately.

Moreover, this condition can increase the risk of various diseases, so that it can be fatal in children who experience very severe weight loss.

It should be noted that the severity of the wasting is divided into two. Therefore, the way to deal with the two conditions is different.

How to deal with moderate malnutrition

The eating rules for children who are experiencing losing are as follows:

• Provide a variety of foods with high energy content to support weight gain.
• Provide other nutrients such as protein, vitamins, and minerals, to accelerate the formation of new tissue.
• The energy from protein is about 12 to 15%
• Energy from fat about 30%

While various choices of food sources for children with wasting, can be obtained from:

• Animal food sources such as red meat, chicken, fish, milk, eggs, and others.
• Moderate fiber.
• Low in salt

It can be said, children with this condition need nutrition and balanced nutrition to avoid obesity.

How to deal with acute losing (severe acute malnutrition)

Launching from the handling guide for acute malnutrition from WHO, several things can be done to overcome acute wasting in children.

This includes the provision of therapeutic foods and the special formula F-75.

Especially for formula F-75, it can only be given to children after their condition stabilizes, their appetite increases, and the edema improves.

Treatment for children with acute losing should be given as soon as possible. If it is not resolved quickly, the acute condition can get worse and eventually lead to malnutrition.

Broadly speaking, daily nutritional intake for children with this condition must be able to meet nutritional needs in order to build muscle and other body tissues.