The Effect of Liv.52 on the Pattern of weight-gain in Children with Marasmus and Other Degrees of Malnutrition as compared with that of Non-Virilising Androgens

INTRODUCTION In a child, appetite is one of the raw drives that promotes the intake of proper nutrition. Anorexia is a common complaint from parents regarding the child at various phases of its growth. Well-marked appetite, in contrast, is also a phenomenon of the growing age period. A critical phase of growth for the child in the tropics occurs in the first five years of its life, as during this phase of growth the child is exposed to many infections, negative food habits and social customs governing its upbringing. Because of these factors the morbidity and mortality rates are high in this age group. Anorexia is amongst the commonest symptoms from which the child suffers and of which parents complain. Consequently, every paediatrician and general practitioner is called upon to promote a healthy and physiological appetite, through some simple medium without recourse to extraordinary drugging. It is customary to prescribe some multivitamin tonics or enzymatic preparations to meet this need.