News: Kwashiorkor

A severe form of malnutrition characterized by a very large stomach. Who is at risk, and how it is caused.

HARARE, 15 October 2007 (IRIN) - Theresa Machirori, a thirteen-year-old student in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, has become used to the morning routine of washing her face and legs, putting on a tattered uniform and going to school without breakfast.

Kwashiorkor is a form of malnutrition caused by inadequate protein intake in the presence of fair to good energy (total calories) intake.