NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF A POTENTIAL READY-TO-USE THERAPEUTIC FOOD (RUTF) FORMULATED FROM SESAME, WHEAT AND SOYA BEANS BLEND
CHAPTERONE
1.0 Introduction
Malnutrition is one of the major problems faced by most countries in the world. Malnutrition has been defined by WFP (2000), as “a state in which the physical function of an individual is impaired to the point where he or she can no longer maintain adequate performance process such as growth, pregnancy, lactation, physical work and resisting and recovering from disease.” The term malnutrition is a broad term which literally means bad nutrition, and technically refers to both over nutrition and under nutrition.The problem of over nutrition which is associated with excessive nutrients intakes is mostly found in advanced or developed countries. Whereas under nutrition is more prevalent in developing countries particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. It occurs when people do not consume food consistently, or the food consumed is not adequately absorbed by the body, or the food is lacking in essential nutrients required by the body for its normal functions.
In Nigeria, malnutrition (referring to under nutrition in this case)among children is a very serious problem, accounting for about fifty percent (50%) of one million (1 Million)deaths of children under five annually (NDHS, 2013).About 2 out of every 5 Nigerian children are stunted, with rates of stunting varying from one region to another across the country. Almost 30% of Nigerian children are underweight, meaning that their weight is less than the expected weight for their age. Wasting (i.e. being too thin for their height) constitute about 18%(NDHS,2013).
Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) remains a major killer of children under five years of age. It is defined by a very low weight for height (below -3z-scores of the median WHO growth standards), by visible severe wasting, or by the presence of nutritional (bilateral pitting) oedema (WHOet al., 2006). Children with SAM need to be treated with specialized therapeutic diets in combination with diagnosis and management of infections and other complications.(WHOet al.,2007).
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NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF A POTENTIAL READY-TO-USE THERAPEUTIC FOOD (RUTF) FORMULATED FROM SESAME, WHEAT AND SOYA BEANS BLEND