The Spectrum of Malnutrition

Abstract

Adequate nutrition is essential for economic growth, good health and physical and cognitive development. It requires a diverse diet including staple foods, vegeta-bles, fruits, animal-source foods and where needed, for-tified foods. Levels of nutrition are affected not only by food availability and access but also by sanitation – such as access to safe drinking water – and disease. In addi-tion, education can play a key role in improving nutri-tional intake and balance. Chronically food-insecure populations are characterized by high or very high levels of undernutrition and re-current high levels of acute malnutrition (wasting, low weight-for-height). These factors limit the development of individuals and societies. Undernutrition accounts for approximately 12 percent of deaths worldwide, and in developing countries, 60 percent of deaths in the under-five age group are linked with the low weight (i.e. one third of the 8.8 million annual child deaths). The mal-nourished are exposed to a high risk of diarrhoeal dis-ease from contaminated water and food, and in turn diar-rhoea worsens the effects of malnutrition, as it compro-mises the human body's capability to utilize nutrients. Underweight children whose growth is stunted (when a children's height is low for their age – a telling indicator of chronic undernutrition) and wasting (when children's weight is low for their height – a measure of acute un-dernutrition) are highly unlikely to reach their full ed-ucational and productive potential, especially if these conditions are present under the age of two. This af-fects both the individuals and their countries' long-term prospects for economic growth and development. South Asia has the highest levels of stunting and wasting in the world, with 46 percent of its children stunted and 15 percent wasted. Sub-Saharan Africa has the next highest proportion of stunted children, with a prevalence as high as 41 percent in Eastern/Southern Africa, and 28 percent of its children underweight.