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Influence of malnutrition on the body temperature of children

O G Brooke

    British Medical Journal
    |February 5, 1972
    PubMed

    Insights

    Malnourished infants show lower body temperatures, potentially to conserve calories. Prompt feeding rapidly restores normal temperature, highlighting its importance in managing childhood malnutrition.

    Area of Science:

    • Pediatrics
    • Nutritional Science
    • Environmental Health

    Background:

    • Malnourished infants often exhibit hypothermia, a condition where body temperature drops below normal.
    • Body temperature regulation in malnourished children can be significantly affected by ambient environmental conditions.
    • Reduced body temperature in malnutrition might be an adaptive mechanism for energy conservation.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the relationship between malnutrition and body temperature in Jamaican infants.
    • To determine the impact of nutritional recovery on body temperature.
    • To explore the role of caloric intake in correcting hypothermia in malnourished children.

    Main Methods:

    • Measured mean auricular temperature in 10 malnourished Jamaican infants upon admission and after recovery.
    • Observed the influence of ambient temperature on body temperature in the malnourished state.
    • Administered high-calorie feeds to five malnourished children with hypothermia and monitored temperature response.

    Main Results:

    • Malnourished infants had a mean auricular temperature 0.84°C lower on admission compared to after recovery.
    • Body temperature in malnourished infants was found to be sensitive to ambient temperature.
    • High-calorie feeding normalized body temperature within two hours in all five hypothermic malnourished children.

    Conclusions:

    • Reduced body temperature in malnourished children may be an adaptive response to conserve energy.
    • Severe hypothermia in malnutrition likely stems from critically low energy reserves.
    • Frequent nutritional support is crucial for the effective management of malnourished children, particularly those with hypothermia.

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