kwashiorkor

views updated

kwashiorkor (kwash-i-or-ker) n. a form of malnutrition due to a diet deficient in protein and energy-producing foods, common among young children in certain African tribes. The symptoms are oedema, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, general discomfort, and apathy; the child fails to thrive and there is usually associated gastrointestinal infection.

More From encyclopedia.com