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Wasting

Loss of muscle and fat tissue

Wasting

Loss of muscle and fat tissue

World Map - Share of children with a weight too low for their height (wasting)

In medicine, wasting, also known as wasting syndrome, refers to the process by which a debilitating disease causes muscle and fat tissue to "waste" away. Wasting is sometimes referred to as "acute malnutrition" because it is believed that episodes of wasting have a short duration, in contrast to stunting, which is regarded as chronic malnutrition. An estimated 45 million children under 5 years of age (or 6.7%) were wasted in 2021. Wasting prevalence declined from 7.5% in 2012 to 6.8% in 2022, with 6.2% of children under five years old projected to be wasted in 2030, more than double the 3% Sustainable Development Goals target. Prevalence is highest in Southern Asia, followed by Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand) and South-eastern Asia.

Causes

Wasting can be caused by an extremely low energy intake (e.g., caused by famine), nutrient losses due to infection, or a combination of low intake and high loss. Infections and conditions associated with wasting include tuberculosis, chronic diarrhea, AIDS, and superior mesenteric artery syndrome. The mechanism may involve cachectin – also called tumor necrosis factor, a macrophage-secreted cytokine. Caretakers and health providers can sometimes contribute to wasting if the patient is placed on an improper diet. Voluntary weight loss and eating disorders are excluded as causes of wasting.

Diagnosis

Classification

  • Children: Weight-for-height (WFH). In infants under 24 months, recumbent (supine) length is used. WFH as % of median reference value is calculated this way:

:\mathrm{WFH} = \frac{\mbox{weight of a given child}}{\mbox{median weight for a given child of that height}} \times 100

Cutoff points may vary, but

  • Adults:
    • Body Mass Index (BMI) is the quotient between weight and height squared (kg/m2). An individual with a BMI
    • Percent of body weight lost (At Tufts, an unintentional loss of 6% or more in 6 months is regarded as wasting)

Treatment

Antiretrovirals and anabolic steroids have been used to treat HIV wasting syndrome. Additionally, an increase in protein-rich foods such as peanut butter and legumes (dried beans and peas) can assist in controlling the loss of muscle mass.

Sources

References

References

  1. (5 May 2021). "UNICEF/WHO/The World Bank Group joint child malnutrition estimates: levels and trends in child malnutrition: key findings of the 2021 edition". [[World Health Organization]].
  2. (2024). "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024". FAO; IFAD; UNICEF; WFP; WHO.
  3. Michael Powers, "Performance-Enhancing Drugs" in Joel Houglum, in Gary L. Harrelson, Deidre Leaver-Dunn, "Principles of Pharmacology for Athletic Trainers", SLACK Incorporated, 2005, {{ISBN. 1-55642-594-5, p. 330
  4. "HIV wasting syndrome - HIV/AIDS".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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