Question

Which of the following is a protein deficiency disease?
A. Osteomalacia
B. Kwashiorkor
C. Pellagra
D. Rickets

Answer 1

Hint: Protein deficiency disease is most commonly seen in infants and pre-school children. This disease is caused due to insufficient intake of proteins.

Complete Answer:
- Protein deficiency/ Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM)—sometimes called protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM)—is the most common nutritional disorder in developing countries.
- PEM is widely prevalent in infants and pre-school children. Kwashiorkor and marasmus are the two types of protein deficiency diseases.
- Kwashiorkor means sickness of the deposed child i.e. a disease the elder child gets when the second baby is born. Since the first child is devoid of protein-rich breast milk, they receive insufficient protein.
- Kwashiorkor is majorly found in children between 1-5 years of age. This is primarily due to a lack of sufficient protein intake, as the diet of the child mainly consists of carbohydrates.

The symptoms of kwashiorkor include :
- Stunted growth
- Edema (particularly on legs and hands)
- Diarrhea
- Discoloration of hair and skin
- Anemia
- Apathy
- Moon face.
Osteomalacia, pellagra, rickets are vitamin deficiency diseases.

So, the correct answer is kwashiorkor.

Note: Kwashiorkor is often confused with marasmus. Both are protein deficiency diseases. Marasmus means ‘to waste’. It majorly occurs in children under 1 year of age. Marasmus is predominantly due to a lack of calories. This is usually observed in children given watery gruels to supplement the mother’s breast milk.