Malnutrition

Malnutrition, whether due to poor diet or eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, often leads to hair loss. Seemingly healthy vegetarian diets that don't concentrate on providing enough protein can have the same result, as can diets that don't provide adequate iron or zinc. Even physician-approved diets that lead to slow and healthy weight loss can result in some hair loss--usually three to six months after a loss of 15 pounds or more.

In an effort to conserve scarce protein resources the body shifts hairs from the growth to the resting stage. The loss is gradual and diffuse and may not be noticed until nearly half of all hair is lost.

This hair loss almost always reverses itself when an adequate diet is restored.

Information on this page, provided as a service by Peggy Knight Solutions, draws upon information from the following primary sources: the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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