what is malnutrition
in children?

1. Poor quality of diet

We typically think of malnutrition as it relates to children not eating enough of the right foods. It can also occur when children eat too much of the wrong foods.

Without enough nutritious food to eat or the ability to absorb the right nutrients due to illness, children under five are at high risk of acute malnutrition which can lead to death - or if a child survives, can cause stunting, and impede mental and physical developmentlonger term.

2. Poor Maternal Health Can Also Cause Malnutrition in Children

The largest window of opportunity for a child’s health occurs in the first 1,000 days--from the start of a woman’s pregnancy to her child’s second birthday. Mothers who are malnourished during their pregnancy can experience complications giving birth. Many children are born small because their mothers are undernourished.  Severely malnourished mothers can also have trouble breastfeeding their infants.

We know that breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life has health benefits that extend into adulthood. However, if a mother is too malnourished to breastfeed, these health benefits may not be passed on and a child can be at risk for malnutrition. This is especially true in developing countries.

Save the Children’s global health programs work to help maternal, newborn, and child health, which ultimately helps end child malnutrition. We work in many of the poorest places, in the United States and abroad, to alleviate child hunger worldwide and prevent malnutrition. However, children living in developed countries are still at risk for malnutrition if they are born into poverty.

3. Socioeconomic Status

Poverty is the number one cause of malnutrition in developing countries. Often times, families living in poverty lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Many communities do not have full-service grocery stores that regularly stock fresh produce.

Even if they do, fresh fruits and vegetables can be expensive. When fresh fruits and vegetables are out of reach for children, they can fill up on less expensive, less healthy foods.

Chronic malnutrition is becoming concentrated in countries with the fewest resources, where 1 in 3 children have stunted growth. Today, 9 in 10 stunted children, roughly 139 million children, live in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Chronic malnutrition has also become increasingly concentrated in conflict-affected countries.

4. War and Conflict

At least 240 million children live in countries affected by conflict and fragility.^[iii] These children are at heightened risk of death before age 5, stunted growth due to malnutrition and so much more.

In South Sudan, for example, conflict and drought have led to devastating conditions for children. Nearly seven million people, or 61% of the population, face acute food insecurity. Unlike its regional counterparts Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, which are facing severe food insecurity due to worsening drought, South Sudan’s food crisis is directly linked to the ongoing conflict.^[iv]

Save the Children in South Sudan is the lead health and nutrition provider in much of the region. We run 58 feeding program sites for infants and young children, all powered by the support of our donors.

The crisis in Syria has also shed light on the number of refugee children who are at risk of malnutrition. Children, who make up more than half of the world’s 22.5 million refugees[v], often go without healthy food, health care and an education.

Access to food and water has become a heartbreaking challenge— leaving thousands of Syrian children at risk for malnutrition. There are many ways to help Syrian refugee children. Your knowledge and support can make a world of difference for children around the world.

In Yemen, where children are growing up in the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, the indirect effects of the five-year conflict there are putting huge numbers of children at risk of death due to malnutrition.

Back to top