def escapeMarkdown(text):
    """
    Escapes the * and _ Markdown meta-characters by \\* and \\_.

    text (string):
    The text to escape.

    returns (string):
    The text with * and _ replaced with \\* and \\_, respectively.
    """
    escapedText = ''
    escapeSet = set(['*', '_'])
    for c in text:
        if c in escapeSet:
            escapedText += '\\'
        escapedText += c
    return escapedText
