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Summary
Food provides the energy and nutrients you need to be healthy. If you don't get enough nutrients -- including proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals - you may suffer from malnutrition.
Causes of malnutrition include:
- Lack of specific nutrients in your diet. Even the lack of one vitamin can lead to malnutrition.
- An unbalanced diet
- Certain medical problems, such as malabsorption syndromes and cancers
Symptoms may include fatigue, dizziness, and weight loss. Or, you may have no symptoms. To diagnose the cause of the problem, your doctor may do blood tests and a nutritional assessment. Treatment may include replacing the missing nutrients and treating the underlying cause.
Diagnosis and Tests
-
Albumin Blood Test
(National Library of Medicine)
Also in Spanish
-
Chymotrypsin in Stool
(National Library of Medicine)
Also in Spanish
-
Prealbumin Blood Test
(National Library of Medicine)
Also in Spanish
Related Issues
-
Vitamin B12-Deficiency Anemia
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
Also in Spanish
- Vitamin Deficiency Anemia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
-
Weight Changes, Malnutrition, and Cancer
(National Cancer Institute)
Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Malnutrition
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Plant protein, fibre and physical activity solutions to address poor appetite...
- Article: Practical Guidelines by the Andalusian Group for Nutrition Reflection and Investigation...
- Article: Intradialytic oral nutrition effects on malnourished hemodialysis patients: a randomized trial.
- Malnutrition -- see more articles
Find an Expert
Children
- Failure to Thrive (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Older Adults
- Preventing Malnutrition in Older Adults (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.