Malnutrition is a global health issue and the leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality under 5 years old. Malnutrition comprises undernutrition (stunting, wasting, underweight), overweight, and obesity. Infancy and child malnutrition are substantially influenced by a number of variables, such as insufficient nutrients, early birth, intestinal inflammation, and gastrointestinal tract microbiota. A variety of environmental factors have been identified that modulate the structure and diversity of newborns' gut microbiomes and their long-term health. Significant data demonstrate that the functional potency and compositional diversity of the microbiome differ in different types of malnutrition. The divergence in the gut microbiome composition between malnourished and healthy children can be observed at an age as young as 12 months. This focuses on variations in the gut microbiome that may influence adult obesity/health status, beginning in the early years of life. The therapeutic potential of supporting a healthy microbiome in malnourished children is being studied as a technique to aid in the fight against malnutrition. The goal of this chapter was to determine the makeup of gut microbiota in obese and undernourished children under the age of 5 years.
Keywords: Children under five; Infants; Malnutrition; Microbiota; Obese; Overweight; SAM; Therapeutics.
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