FACTOID # 48: Many Americans live alone - the United States leads the world in one person households.
 
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Encyclopedia > Wasting

In medical circles, wasting refers to the process by which a debilitating disease causes muscle and fat tissue to "waste" away. Wasting is sometimes referred to as "acute malnutrition" because it is believed that episodes of wasting have a short duration, in contrast to stunting, which is regarded as chronic malnutrition. A disease is an abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. ... A top-down view of skeletal muscle Muscle is contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Biological tissue is any substance made up of cells that perform a similar function within an organism. ... Stunting in radio broadcasting occurs when a radio station abruptly begins broadcasting seemingly uncharacteristic programming or making grandiose claims regarding itself or its competitors to generate attention or word of mouth. ...

Contents


Causes

Wasting can be caused by an extremely low energy intake (e.g., caused by famine), nutrient losses due to infection, or a combination of low intake and high loss. Infections associated with wasting include tuberculosis, chronic diarrhea, and AIDS. The mecanism may involve cachectin - also called tumor necrosis factor, a macrophage-secreted cytokine. Caretakers and health providers sometimes contribute to wasting by putting the patient on a very restrictive diet. Voluntary weight loss and eating disorders are excluded as causes of wasting. A famine is a phenomenon in which a large percentage of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by starvation becomes increasingly common. ... Cytokines are small protein molecules that regulate communication among immune system cells and between immune cells and those of other tissue types. ...


Classification

  • Children: Weight-for-height (WFH). In infants under 24 months, recumbent (supine) length is used. WFH as % of median reference value is calculated this way:
 weight of a given child WFH = ---------------------------------------- x 100 median weight for a child of that height 

Cutoff points may vary, but <80% (close to -2 Z-score) is often used.

  • Adults:
    • Body Mass Index (BMI) is the quotient between weight and height squared (kg/m2). An individual with a BMI < 18.5 is regarded as a case of wasting.
    • Percent of body weight lost (At Tufts, an unintentional loss of 6% or more in 6 months is regarded as wasting)

See also

Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Paul E. Schroeder - A Life, Wasted - washingtonpost.com (967 words)
They were wasted in a belief that democracy would grow simply by removing a dictator -- a careless misunderstanding of what democracy requires.
They were wasted by not sending enough troops to do the job needed in the resulting occupation -- a careless disregard for professional military counsel.
Until then, the lives of other sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers may be wasted as well.
Wasted vote - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (562 words)
An electoral system which reduces the number of wasted votes is considered desirable by some, on grounds of fairness or on the more pragmatic basis that a voter who feels their vote has made no difference may feel detached from their government or lose confidence in the democratic process.
Their arguments may either suggest that in any voting system each vote is wasted (unless the result is decided by a single vote), or that no vote is wasted as each one sends a political signal which will be taken into account in preparation for the subsequent election.
In a plurality voting system, the term "wasted vote" is not usually applied to votes for the second-placed candidate, but rather to votes for candidates finishing third or lower.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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