Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Dec;12(4):603-616.
doi: 10.1007/s13668-023-00505-9. Epub 2023 Oct 28.

Severe Acute Malnutrition: The Potential of Non-Peanut, Non-Milk Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods

Oluwaseun F Akinmoladun  1   2   3 , Oluwaseun P Bamidele  4 , Victoria A Jideani  5 , Cebisa N Nesamvuni  6
Affiliations
Review

Severe Acute Malnutrition: The Potential of Non-Peanut, Non-Milk Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods

Oluwaseun F Akinmoladun et al. Curr Nutr Rep. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review provides information on the prospect and effectiveness of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) produced locally without the addition of milk and peanut.

Recent findings: The foods used in fighting malnutrition in the past decades contributed little to the success of the alleviation program due to their non-effectiveness. Hence, RUTFs are introduced to fight malnutrition. The peanut allergies, the high cost of milk, and the high production cost of peanut RUTF have made its distribution, treatment spread, and accessibility very slow, especially in areas where it is highly needed. There is a need, therefore, for a low-cost RUTF that is acceptable and effective in treating severe acute malnutrition among under-5 children. This review shows both the success and failure of reported studies on the use of non-peanut and non-milk RUTF, including their cost of production as compared to the standard milk and peanut-based RUTF. It was hypothesised that replacing the milk ingredient component with legumes like soybeans can reduce the cost of production of RUTFs while also delivering an effective product in managing and treating severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Consumers generally accept them better because of their familiarity with the raw materials.

Keywords: Alternative RUTFs; Effectiveness; Ready-to-use therapeutic foods; Severe acute malnutrition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared they have no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Myatt M, Khara T, Schoenbuchner S, Pietzsch S, Dolan C, Lelijveld N, et al. Children who are both wasted and stunted are also underweight and have a high risk of death: a descriptive epidemiology of multiple anthropometric deficits using data from 51 countries. Arch Public Heal. 2018;76:1–11.10.1186/s13690-018-0277-1. - PMC - PubMed
    1. UNICEF/WHO/WORLD BANK. Levels and trends in child malnutrition UNICEF / WHO / World Bank Group Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates Key findings of the edition. World Heal Organ. 2021;2021:1–32.
    1. Batool R, Butt MS, Sultan MT, Saeed F, Naz R. Protein-energy malnutrition: a risk factor for various ailments. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2015;55:242–253. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2011.651543. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gavhi F, Kuonza L, Musekiwa A, Villyen MN. Factors associated with mortality in children under five years old hospitalized for severe acute malnutrition in Limpopo province, South Africa, 2014–2018: A cross-sectional analytic study. PLoS ONE. 2020;15:1–13. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232838. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nalwanga D, Musiime V, Kizito S, Kiggundu JB, Batte A, Musoke P, et al. Mortality among children under five years admitted for routine care of severe acute malnutrition: a prospective cohort study from Kampala. Uganda BMC Pediatr. 2020;20:1–11. doi: 10.1186/s12887-020-02094-w. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types