Interview Complete

I have completed my interview with the nutritionist.  The following are the Q&A.

What exactly are the effects of malnutrition, and how do the effects vary with children, adolescence, and adults? The biggest difference with malnutrition between adults and children is the stunted growth and development that affects children.  Children often have less nutritional reserves to draw from, and so are more vulnerable.  The long term affect in children's growth is impaired bone development.  If they recover they are highly susceptible to  body fat and obesity as well as the diseases that often go along with that--cardiovascular disease and diabetes.  Because our bodies are designed to store fat, if it has been deprived, those fat storing hormones kick into high gear and if one can then eat regular meals, they may gain weight and become obese because of this.  The affects of malnutrition are hard to account for as deficiency in any single nutrient causes the body to malfunction. Being generally malnourished can cause mental difficulties, visual difficulties,muscle cramps and weakness, fatigue, anemia, dental problems, and more seriously, low immunity which can result in the inability to ward off infections and parasites.  Low immunity will result in any number of diseases including cancer.

Also, there are lots of pictures of children who appear to have basically no meat, or muscle on their bodies. How long does it take to recover from malnutrition when it gets to that point? This is a difficult question as individuals recover at different rates.  It depends on a lot of factors as well, such as if they were born malnourished (with a malnourished mother) or if it was an interruption of nutrition resulting in malnutrition.  If they are able to recover fully in a situation where there will be no interruption, it could take as little as a few months to recover.  The body is amazing in its capacity to rebound, so even severely malnourished people can get better with little effects.  However, if their bodies have begun to break down and organs are malfunctioning, it may be more difficult and maybe impossible to recover.

What are the main vitamins, mineral, etc. needed to get the body back to normal? Or is there a point where there is nothing that can be done to save them? Again, there is no simple answer to this question.  We need all vitamins and minerals to get the body back.  As I said before, deficiency in any single nutrient can result in the body malfunctioning. To recover, people need full nutrition, not isolated nutrients.  They need food.  Of course, if they are severely malnourished, they would start with liquid nutrition and move toward solid foods.  The macro nutrients need to be balanced (protein, fats, carbohydrates).  With a well-balanced meal plan, people will get all the nutrients they  need.

West Africa Crisis

West Africa is experiencing much of the same problems as the Horn of Africa. However, it is not as severe and although it is a very big problem, people and the world are not as concerned for them as they are for those of East Africa. Many of the same groups and organizations that are caring for those in East Africa are also helping those people in refugees in Western Africa. Children, babies, adults, animals are all suffering and some are even dying because of the drought and lack of food.

Interview

I have found someone to do my interview with. Her name is Debbie Peterson MA, and she is a Integrative Health and Nutritionist. I have decided to have the interview about the different effects of malnutrition. The interview was conducted through email, and she has agreed to answer a few questions, but she has not answered the questions yet.

The following are the questions I asked her:
What are the effects of malnutrition?
How are those effects different for children, adolescence, and adults?
How long does it take to recover from malnutrition?
Is there a point of malnutrition where there is no recovery from it?

This timeline gives a very brief rundown of both west and east Africa. This made the explaining of the crisis and order of it much easier when writing the paper.

http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?cmp=KNC-113655240&item=2327282&go=item&section=10339&xxwvCampaign=113655240&prod=Fq-DDx3D0ddiRShBtTartwZs:S&prod_pses=ZG0778C1842764790A1CF30E6539E264C3F8F3A18639B9273EECA51073BF8ED92345CA28D3F25CC42A0ABB12045E00974F27BF90CBEC61959B

^^^The Famine has begun to spread to the western region of Africa. People in the area of Niger are at risk of dying just like the people the Horn of Africa. Again, the ones who the most at risk, are children pregnant women, and the elderly. The areas under the biggest threat in the west are Niger, and Mali.


I have found another blog doing basically the same thing as me, but this person has found some good info concerning both the east and west parts of Africa and the food shortage. It also gives a timeline of each.
http://30hourfamine.org/blog/2012/03/africa-the-west-and-east-side-story/

In the Horn of Africa, lack of rain in the past has caused the people of those regions to declare a famine. People from regions such as Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti are in jeopardy of losing their lives because they have no food or water. Many people, mostly children are suffering from malnutrition. They are all being forced to leave their homes to refugees, which are in some cases a hundred miles away. They are forced to walk with their families in order to get any kind of help. On these trips, families are dying from lack water, food, as well as from the harsh conditions of the land.

The most affected area of the famine is in Somalia, but thousands of people are fleeing to to refugees in Kenya, and Ethiopia where hundreds of thousands of people are being kept in the refugees. It is the worst drought in more than 60 years, and it has affected more than 12 million people in the regions. People are in need of food, water, medicine, and shelter. They are being crammed into places that are way over the max already, and it is not making things much better. The disaster started in Somalia, and has expanded to these other regions, and now it is also spreading toward Western Africa.

Many groups and organizations and governments are trying to raise awareness and help out the people of East Africa. The crisis is a huge problem, yet not many people really know what is going on. This is along-term problem, and will affect the lives of many forever.

http://www.osv.com/tabid/7621/itemid/8279/East-Africa-famine-threatens-lives-of-12-million.aspx
The Kenyan government does not want to open more refugees because they feel it leaves them open to attacks by terrorists. “We cannot allow uncontrolled influx of refugees from Somalia, because that will make us vulnerable to terrorist attacks by the al-Shabab,” Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister, said. “It is a very risky situation.” Al-Shabab has said that they will attack Eastern African countries for supporting the Mogadishu governemnt. Obama has stated that the crisis needs more attention here in the US as well as international attention.