Kwashiorkor is most common in areas where there is:

• Famine
• Limited food supply
• Low levels of education (when people do not understand how to eat a proper diet)

This disease is more common in very poor countries.

It often occurs during a drought or other natural disaster, or during political unrest.

Kwashiorkor is very rare in children in the United States. There are only isolated cases. However, one government estimate suggests that as many as 50% of elderly people in nursing homes in the United States do not get enough protein in their diet.

When kwashiorkor does occur in the United States, it is most often a sign of child abuse and severe neglect.