8/7/2019 Malnutrition has several primary causes

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Malnutrition has several primary causes.

Hunger, the most insidious, is mainly a deficiency of calories and protein. The main cause ofhunger is poverty. Hunger is most devastating when it attacks children, since it can affect theirmental and physical development for the rest of their lives, thus deepening the poverty cycle since

they have less access to education and opportunities for work later in life. However, hunger alsoseriously affects adults, impeding their productivity and creating a host of associated healthproblems, making their lives even more difficult. The terrible effects and legacy of HIV/AIDS arealso tightly linked to hunger and malnutrition (see Section on HIV/AIDS). The W.H.O. estimatesthe size of this group at roughly 1.2 billion people.

Micronutrient and/or protein deficiency is shown in a very large group of malnourished people. They either do not receive adequateamounts of vitamins and minerals (micronutrients), or the correct proportion of protein in their diets. This can also have very debilitating effeon people and societies. The health symptoms may not be immediately visible to either the individuals themselves or to health workers, or thcan take years to manifest themselves. The result is lost productivity, and a great increase in health care costs which negatively affects othegovernment attempts to improve the quality of life - aside from the enormous social cost.

For example, many older people in all countries have serious protein and micronutrient deficiencies. As people age, their traditional foods mbe difficult to chew, swallow or digest, or it may seem bland, and eating then loses its appeal. They may also simply forget to eat. And many

aboriginal groups worldwide now suffer from a host of diseases previously unknown to them such as diabetes and certain cancers. This isargely due to a shift from more traditional diets, which included fresh meat, vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts, to some of the highlyprocessed foods of the "modern" society, which are often very nutrient-deficient. Another example would be most people from the formerEastern Bloc and Soviet Union countries, who consume sufficient or too many calories, but who have protein, vitamin and mineraldeficiencies. The worldwide size of this group is estimated at 2 billion people.

Over-consumption, taking in many more calories than required, is often accompanied by a deficiency in vitamins and minerals. Many foodcompanies sometimes exploit the human inclination towards fatty and sugary foods by offering consumers cheap and often nutritionally empproducts. Compounded with their reduced physical activity and greater meat consumption, these people, the overweight and obese, are a fagrowing segment of the world's population. Ironically they often live, as the middle and upper class, in those countries where hunger isprevalent, such as in India and China. The health care costs, missed productivity and environmental costs associated with this group are huThe W.H.O. estimates this group to be 1.2 billion people worldwide.

The common thread that affects all of these groups, 4.4 billion people, is malnutrition.