The nutritional state (or the state of nutrition) is the child’s physical appearance which indicates whether he/she is well nourished or poorly nourished. The nutritional state can also be affected by medical conditions such as chronic diarrhoea or tuberculosis.
The nutritional state is evaluated by clinical examination to determine whether the child is underweight or overweight, stunted, wasted or obese, or shows any signs of nutritional deficiency. Therefore, the nutritional state is an indirect measure of the child’s diet.
Nutrition is what we eat, while our nutritional state is what we look like. Good nutrition in a healthy child results in a normal nutritional state and normal growth.