Effects of Malnutrition

As both my characters are featuring in a post-apocalyptic world, I need to understand the effects that their environment would have on them mentally and physically to fully get to grips with my ideas and portray it accurately through makeup and hair design.

Malnutrition: lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat.

Signs of malnutrition (NHS)

The most common symptom of undernutrition is unintentional weight loss (losing 5-10% or more of your body weight over three to six months).

Other signs can include:

• weak muscles
• feeling tired all the time
• low mood
• an increase in illnesses or infections

Preventing malnutrition (NHS)

The best way to prevent malnutrition is to eat a healthy, balanced diet.

A healthy, balanced diet is vital for maintaining health and fitness. To stay healthy, you need to eat a variety of foods from the four main food groups including:

• plenty of fruit and vegetables
• plenty of bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods
• some milk and dairy foods
• some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non dairy sources of protein

Unforunately for my characters, in a post-apocalyptic world like The Walking Dead's they would not be getting the vital nutrients to be completely healthy. After months, potentially weeks, all the usual sources of food (supermarkets and shops) would be cleared out by everyone. Fresh produce wouldn't last either, so you would be eaten food out of cans and preserved to prevent hunger - however, it is unlikely foods like this would be nutritious. 

Claudia has realised this and has found herself a new food source, human flesh. It has been known that human flesh is similar to pork and this will be a good source vitamins and minerals to keep her reasonably healthy (or at least more healthy than beans out of a tin!). Therefore, although she may not be strong physically, she will look healthier than most in this environment. However, on the other side of the story Mrs Laderman is in the centre of the zombie apocalypse. As we see in many zombie films and television series, it is always a struggle to find and sustain food. She will be pretty nifty in ways of survival as she has been at it since the apocalypse started, so will be able to find the odd source of food but she will be weak, exhausted and vulnerable to illnesses. Therefore, I would have to design her to look more sculpted and tired than Claudia. Potentially, infections could be forming in any cuts she has as well. Also, as Mrs Laderman will be outside most of her life now she will be tanned as the show is set in a hot state of America.

References:

• NHS. (2015). Malnutrition. [27^th March] Available: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Malnutrition/Pages/Introduction.aspx