When understanding about weight loss, it's good to understand what causes extreme stomach bloating, or kwashiorkor. Not that it should happen to you, but because others around you might use it as a way to incorrectly explain a weight loss issue.

You've probably seen the tragic cases of kwashiorkor on TV during news coverage of famines. Usually it's the small children who have thin bodies and bloated stomachs. This is of course not caused by them being fat or full. It is a bloating situation caused by malnutrition and specifically the lack of protein in their diet.

A child with kwashiorkor can often be getting enough "food" - like rices and starches - but still develop kwashiorkor because of a lack of protein.

The name "kwashiorkor" comes from the term "deposed child." The name refers to the fact that this situation tends to happen when a child is weaned off of a mother's protein-rich breast milk, due to the arrival of another infant in the family. The toddler is put onto a diet of sweet potato, plantain, and other starches - but the lack of protein causes severe nutritional issues.

Here's what happens.

Blood normally moves around the body transporting nutrients. Proteins help regulate the "balance" of water in the blood and cells. There's a delicate balance with things moving in and out of cells. The pressure in the blood is called the colloid osmotic pressure (COP). If the protein isn't there to maintain that pressure balance, water isn't drawn from body parts into the blood stream for flushing. Instead, it remains in body parts. It tends to stay in the hands, feet, and in the abdomen.

There's another issue, that the liver stops working properly and becomes enlarged. So it's a double-dose of bad for the poor child, and it causes their stomach to inflate as if they are overfed. Sadly, some parents then think their child is fine (or even overweight) because of the distended belly, when really this is a dangerous sign of the situation.

Kwashiorkor has many other ill effects, as you might guess. But it is the bloated abdomen which tends to be most visible.

There's a technical term for this bloated abdomen situation. It is ascites. It's not that the stomach itself has anything in it. It is the peritoneal cavity - the abdominal cavity. It's a normally "empty space" in your body between the two membranes which keep your inner organs separated from the abdominal wall. That fills with water.

So, to summarize, kwashiorkor is a body imbalance caused by a severe lack of protein in one's diet. It causes a water imbalance in the circulatory system which results in water pooling in cavities like the abdominal cavity. The solution is generally "simple" - feed the child protein-rich foods like milk and ensure they eat a more balanced diet going forward.



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