The signs of malnutrition are reduced muscle strength, loss of appetite, severe fatigue and unplanned weight loss.
The visible physical signs of malnutrition often include brittle hair, dry skin, protruding bones as well as poor wound healing.
You should monitor any changes in your daily energy levels and eating habits.
Weight loss of 5% to 10% within 3 months to 6 months that is unintentional as well as loss of fat and visible muscle wasting, especially around your temples, clavicles and thighs is a sign of malnutrition.
For your energy and vitals, symptoms like chronic fatigue, dizziness, weakness and the inability to maintain normal body temperature and feeling cold as well as having dry and flaky skin, thinning hair, hair loss and brittle, easily breakable nails are also signs of malnutrition.
For your immune system, getting sick frequently and taking a longer time to recover from infections or wounds and having poor concentration, irritability, apathy and low mood are also signs of malnutrition.
Malnutrition is sometimes but not always a medical emergency, but if you experience a persistent lack of appetite or are eating significantly less than usual, you should let your doctor know.
If you're just slightly malnourished, you can often recover by increasing your food intake of nutritious foods.
The 4 stages of malnutrition are intake and storage, biochemical, Anatomical/Physical and Functional.
During the intake and storage stage of malnutrition, reduced intake of food causes your body to exhaust it's glycogen stores and begin degrading proteins.
During the biochemical stage of malnutrition, blood and tissue levels of vital vitamins, minerals and proteins like albumin drop, although outward physical signs are not visible yet.
During the Anatomical and Physical stages of malnutrition, clinically visible symptoms emerge, which include weight loss, stunted growth, wasting and depleted muscle or fat reserves.
And during the functional stage of malnutrition, your body enters a low power survival mode where your immune function, cardiac output and overall organ performance severely decline, raising mortality risks.
Doctors also formally assess and grade the malnutrition process into the following severity stages using the phenotypic and the etiologic criteria, which include:
Stage 1 (Moderate Malnutrition): Characterized by an unintentional weight loss of 5% to 10% within six months or a mild to moderate reduction in muscle mass.
Stage 2 (Severe Malnutrition): Defined by an unintentional weight loss of greater than 10% within six months, a low body mass index (BMI), and severe muscle or fat depletion.