Nutritional deficiencies can be categorized as Type I or Type II according to the physiological responses of the body to dietary deficiency. In Type I deficiencies, growth continues in children, eventually resulting in tissues becoming depleted in the nutrient, leading to metabolic dysfunction and consequent ill health. As the illness has characteristic signs and symptoms, the deficient nutrient can be identified and remedied. With Type II nutrient deficiency, the response is for the body to stop growing and repairing tissue to conserve the nutrient, or even to break down its own tissues to make the nutrient available. Other Type II nutrients are lost in the process. No characteristic signs or symptoms differentiate one Type II nutrient deficiency from another, and detecting deficiency is complex. It is therefore almost impossible to determine which nutrient is causing the growth failure.