Conceptual Framework

Early Childhood Malnutrition

Outcome

Immediate Deficient food intake Disease

Causes

Insufficient health services, unhealthy environment,

Underlying
Causes Inadequate access to food, and inadequate care for
mothers and children

Area of Residence Socio-economic status Family and community

resources

Basic Causes
 The illustration above is an analytic tool developed to portray causal determinants of

malnutrition. The roots of child malnutrition are categorized into three levels; immediate,

underlying and basic causes. One can also consider the reverse: the conditions necessary at the

same levels for achieving good nutrition. The conceptual framework is there by "turned around"

to become a normative framework that can help conceptualize what measures are necessary to

ensure these conditions for good nutrition. Adequate food intake and freedom of disease are the

immediate conditions for good nutrition. The underlying conditions are clustered under food

security, adequate care and a proper healthy environment, which also constitutes the necessary

components of nutrition security as defined: "a situation in which food security is combined with

a clean environment, adequate health services, and appropriate care and feeding practices, to

ensure a healthy life for all household members. A good area of residence, upright socio-

economic status, and safe family and well-confined community resources are the basic

conditions for fine nourishment.

Theoretical Framework

Theory of Nutrition

According to an article by Holydiver (2012), Food is the essence of life and its first

condition. Not surprisingly, all of the universal concepts of natural science included the theory of

nutrition as their essential and important part. There were two theories of nutrition in the history

of science. The first theory occurred in ancient times and the second – the classical theory of a

balanced diet – has been finally formed at the end of the first half of XX century.

The ancient diet theory is synonymous with the names of Aristotle and Galen. Based on

this theory, the power to all body structures is attributed to the blood that is continually produced
in the nutrient digestive system as a result of a complex process that is unknown to nature, in a

manner similar to fermentation. The liver filters the blood, and then all the organs and tissues are

supplied with it. Using this theory, numerous therapeutic diets were built to provide the best

qualities of the latter to facilitate the transformation of food into the blood.

Associated with the common belief about the ideal food and optimal balanced diet is the

classical theory of nutrition. In its simplest form, this approach focuses on the fact that the body

should have a supply composed of such a molecular structure that would compensate for the

metabolism, function, and development that also relates to the young organisms for their cost and

loss.

The classical theory is also based on the following fundamental principles: inflow of

substances must exactly match their expenses, influx of nutrients provided by the destruction of

structures and absorption of food nutrients – nutrients needed for metabolism and construction of

structures of the body, utilization of food is carried out by the body, food consists of several

components of different physiological significance: food, ballast and toxic substances.

The two theories of nutrition are related to the researcher's study for with conventional

application of these theories, there would be improvement of overall health and reduced risk of

malnutrition. This provides a possible solution to early childhood malnutrition as well, as it

would be a guide for children's health and nutrition.