Question

Marasmus is caused by a deficiency of
a) Protein/carbohydrate
b) Riboflavin
c) Niacin
d) Thiamine

Answer 1

Hint: Marasmus is a disease caused due to the extreme malnutrition. It can occur in people of any age group but the children are mostly affected by it. It can lead to deaths. The visible symptoms of this disease are weight loss, dehydration, and stomach shrinkage.

Complete answer: Malnutrition occurs due to the deficiency caused by the excessive absence of a particular nutrient or due to an imbalance of nutrients taken in a diet by a person. Malnutrition leads to the weight loss, absence of growth, shrinkage of the stomach, and dehydration. Marasmus is also a severe form of malnutrition which is due to the deficiency of energy-rich components present in the diet. The energy from the food is given by the protein and carbohydrate components. Its absence leads to the occurrence of this disease. The children are usually affected by it. The body weight gets reduced to as low as 62%. It is similar to kwashiorkor disease which is caused due to deficiency of proteins. But marasmus is caused due to deficiency of energy-rich components including protein. The treatment includes feeding of the skim milk which is combined with boiled water. If milk gets digested by the body then the person is fed a mixture including sesame, casein, and sugar. Refeeding should be done slowly and gradually for the body to adapt to the changes. Once the body has recovered, a proper diet should be given to the person meeting their daily nutritional requirements.

So, the answer is ‘protein/carbohydrate’.

Note: Marasmus can cause various other diseases and infections also. So, children affected should also be given treatment related to antibiotics. Marasmus is a serious disease as it can lead to a point where the protein digestion is permanently stopped by the body. At this point of a disease, any efforts made to reverse the disease are futile.