Kwashiorkor
“Kwashiorkor is a disease marked by severe protein malnutrition and bilateral extremity swelling. It usually affects infants and children, most often around the age of weaning through age 5. The disease is seen in very severe cases of starvation and poverty-stricken regions worldwide.”1 Kwashiorkor is a form of malnutrition, but the symptoms aren’t what we might assume. Where a distended stomach is one of the most prominent signs of traditional malnutrition, many children with Kwashiorkor actually have a passable number of calories in their diet—but they don't have enough protein. As children grow, they need protein in order to [...]