Abstract

The adverse effects of communicable disease on energy status result from decreased intakes due to anorexia and the tendance to withdraw solid foods, from decreased absorption when the gastrointestinal tract is affected, from increased metabolism due to fever, from increased catabolic losses due to the stress response, and from diversion of energy for the internal synthesis of globulins and other proteins in response to infection. Among underprivileged children in most developing countries, episodes of infectious disease are frequent, and their cumulative effects contribute significantly to impaired growth and development. Energy requirements for recovery, including catch-up growth, are accordingly increased, but they are spread over a longer period of time. Under developing country conditions there is a risk that the diet will be inadequate for rapid recovery, and that another infection will occur before recovery is complete.