- malignant m. SYN: kwashiorkor.
- protein m. undernutrition resulting from inadequate intake of protein; characteristic manifestations include nutritional edema, kwashiorkor.
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mal·nu·tri·tion .mal-n(y)u̇-'trish-ən n faulty nutrition due to inadequate or unbalanced intake of nutrients or their impaired assimilation or utilization
mal·nu·tri·tion·al -əl adj
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n.
the condition caused by an improper balance between what an individual eats and what he requires to maintain health. This can result from eating too little (subnutrition or starvation) but may also imply dietary excess or an incorrect balance of basic foodstuffs such as protein, fat, and carbohydrate. A deficiency (or excess) of one or more minerals, vitamins, or other essential ingredients may arise from malabsorption of digested food or metabolic malfunction of one or more parts of the body as well as from an unbalanced diet.
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mal·nu·tri·tion (mal″noo-trishґən) any disorder of nutrition; it may be due to unbalanced or insufficient diet or to defective assimilation or utilization of foods.Medical dictionary. 2011.