Angela Onwuzoo
As several Nigerian households are feeling the brunt of the economic hardship that has engulfed the country, children under the age of five with protein deficiency may suffer from anaemia, eye problems, and other serious health challenges if not addressed, nutrition experts have said.
Besides children, the nutritionists also disclosed that women, especially pregnant and lactating mothers were also affected by protein deficiency.
The term protein deficiency represents a state of deficit in body protein or one or more of the essential amino acids.
The World Health Organisation says in low-income countries, inadequate amounts of food (causing conditions such as child malnutrition and retarded growth) and inadequate diversity of food (causing deficiency of vital micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals or trace elements) continue to be priorities for health problems.
The UN health agency notes that malnutrition in all its forms, increases the risk of disease and early death, adding that most of the malnutrition-related neurological disorders are preventable.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, the nutritionists said children were major affected by protein deficiency because of their high protein requirement for growth and development.
A community nutritionist and nutrition educator, Charles Nkwoala, told our correspondent that protein deficiency in children under-five could lead to retarded growth, eye problems, poor cognitive development, lowered immunity, fatigue, and lack of concentration.
Nkwoala, a former General Secretary of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, said the immediate cause of protein deficiency was majorly related to inadequate intake of protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, legumes and also the presence of diseases.
He said, “For us to appreciate the reason for the rise in protein deficiency in Nigeria, especially among children, we need to know the causes of protein deficiency. There are about three levels of causes – immediate cause, underlying cause, and basic cause.
“The immediate cause is predisposed by the underlying cause, which is mainly due to household food insecurity, inadequate care, sanitation and access to health care, which are also hinged on lack of nutrition education.
“The basic cause of protein deficiency is poverty, unemployment and lack of basic infrastructures. If you consider the fact that Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world and the predominant lack of basic amenities and a poor health care system, it is therefore clear that protein deficiency will always be on the increase.
“Protein deficiency has serious health implications. Bearing in mind that protein is a major component of almost all parts of the body – blood (haemoglobin), eye, muscle, and hair, it then becomes obvious that its deficiency can lead to several health risks such as anaemia, retarded growth, eye problems, and even death.
“Children and women, especially pregnant and lactating women, are most affected by protein deficiency.
“Children are affected because of their high protein requirement for growth and development. Pregnant and lactating women also require protein for the proper growth of the foetus and milk production respectively.”
The nutritionist pointed out that protein deficiency in pregnancy could have severe consequences on both mother and child.
He said that protein deficiency could lead to anaemia, which he noted was one of the major causes of maternal mortality during pregnancy.
Giving further insight into the health implications of protein deficiency, Nkwoala said, “The foetus is not left out; a woman that is deficient in protein during pregnancy has the risk of losing the foetus.
“The foetus may also be born with low birth weight, which is a result of retarded organs such as brain, pancreas, lungs, heart, etc, which predisposes the baby to several health issues in adulthood such as diabetes, hypertension, and also limited productivity.
“In children under five, protein deficiency can lead to retarded growth, poor cognitive development, lowered immunity, fatigue, and lack of concentration.
“These consequences may be irreversible and affect all aspects of the child’s development even in education attainment and productivity later in life.”
According to UNICEF, Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 percent of children under five.
“An estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition, but only two out of every 10 children affected is currently reached with treatment. Seven percent of women of childbearing age also suffer from acute malnutrition”, says UNICEF.
Listing ways to tackle protein deficiency, the nutritionist said, “The fight against protein deficiency should be fought from the basic cause, which entails creating an opportunity to lift people out of poverty, provide infrastructures and access to basic amenities such as health care facilities.
“These will provide opportunities for individuals and households to have unhindered access to available, affordable, safe, and nutritious foods.
“However, households and individuals need adequate nutrition education in order to know how to combine locally available foods to make nutritious and safe meals for their children and other vulnerable groups in the household.
“They should also maximise their resources in diversifying the foods they consume to meet their nutritional requirements.”
Prof. Beatrice Ogunba
To further check the menace, a Professor of Public Health Nutrition at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Beatrice Ogunba, advised women planning to get pregnant to ensure that they have good nutritional status before going into pregnancy.
This, Ogunba, said was crucial in reducing malnutrition in children, stressing that malnutrition in babies starts from pregnancy.
The nutritionist affirmed that there was a strong relationship between the nutritional status of women before conception and the healthy development of pregnancy.
Ogunba, with specialisation in maternal and child nutrition, noted that women who were anaemic before pregnancy had higher chances of giving birth to babies with low birth weight.
She explained, “Iron is key when it has to do with pregnancy. When a woman’s nutritional status is poor in pregnancy, it has implications for the development of the baby. For those that are anaemic before pregnancy, if they don’t report to the hospital on time for the doctor to monitor their iron status, the chances of having a baby with low birth weight are high.
“So, it is important for women to build up their nutritional status before pregnancy. I will recommend a minimum of six months for women to begin to build their nutritional status before pregnancy by boosting their iron status and having enough iron when they are pregnant.
“ It is important because, in the first three months of pregnancy, most women have food issues. Some find it difficult to eat. So, if a woman has enough iron before conception, even if she is finding it difficult to eat, the baby already has enough iron to fall back on.
“The baby will not have issues with development and formation if the mother has good nutritional status before conception. But after the first trimester, the woman must continue to consume iron-rich foods to boost what she has and for the baby to develop well.”
The WHO estimates that anaemia affects over half of pregnant women in developing countries. Recent estimates in developing countries including Nigeria put the prevalence at 60.0 percent in pregnancy and about 7.0 percent of the women are said to be severely anaemic.
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