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Malnutrition In Children Beats
Out Undernourishment Health
Officials Say
Malnutrition of children, though
it exists, is not a serious
problem in the country.
According to an El Estado de la
Nación report, since 1996, Costa
Rican children are growing up
healthy, thanks to prenatal
care, vaccination, nutrition,
sanitation and health programs.
A pool of school students in
2004 found that 6.4% of girls
and 5.9% of boys were below
weight according to their
corporal mass.
According to the Ministra de
Salud (Health Minister), María
Luisa Ávila the greater problem
is poor nourishment than bad
undernourishment.
For their part, the Patronato
Nacional de la Infancia (PANI) -
the child welfare agency - says
they find a bit of everything
when they intervene in family
situations, from negligence to
abandonment of children which
leads to poor nutrition.
Experts believe that the
problems with nutrition in
children can lead to chronic
health problems in adulthood,
including diabetes and
hypertension.
Malnutrition is a general term
for the medical condition caused
by an improper or insufficient
diet. It most often refers to
undernutrition resulting from
inadequate consumption, poor
absorption, or excessive loss of
nutrients.
An individual will experience
malnutrition if the appropriate
amount of, or quality of
nutrients comprising a healthy
diet are not consumed for an
extended period of time.
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