kwashiorkor, condition caused by severe protein deficiency. Kwashiorkor is most often encountered in developing countries in which the diet is high in starch and low in proteins. It is common in young children weaned to a diet consisting chiefly of cereal grains, cassava, plantain, and sweet potato or similar starchy foods. The condition in children was first described in 1932. The term kwashiorkor means “deposed child” (“deposed” from the mother’s breast by a newborn sibling) in one African dialect and “red boy” in another dialect. The latter term comes from the reddish orange discoloration of the hair that is characteristic of the disease. Other symptoms include dry skin and skin rash, potbelly and edema, weakness, nervous irritability, anemia, digestive disturbances such as diarrhea, and fatty infiltration of the liver.
In addition to protein-deficient diet, other causes of kwashiorkor include poor intestinal absorption, chronic alcoholism, kidney disease, and infection, burns, or other trauma resulting in the abnormal loss of body protein. Protein malnutrition is often associated with deficiencies of one or more other nutrients and of calories. When the caloric intake is inadequate and the level of dietary protein is barely adequate, protein malnutrition may still develop, for some of the protein is metabolized to supply the body’s energy needs.
The consumption of dried milk-based formula has proved effective in treating kwashiorkor. As long-term preventive measures, such international groups as the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have actively encouraged the successful development of high-protein plant mixtures based on local food preferences and availability. Protein malnutrition in early life may lead to an adult predisposition to certain diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver and may cause stunted mental development.
The term protein-energy malnutrition covers the whole spectrum of deficiencies caused by lack of protein or calories or both. When both calories and protein are lacking, young children (usually one to four years old) may suffer from marasmus, a condition characterized by a general wasting of body tissues. Children with marasmus may become acutely emaciated and fail to grow; additions to the diet that provide both calories and protein can effect cures in a relatively short time.