hunger and malnutrition

HUNGR and MALNUTRITION

If one doesn’t eat enough food to fill current physiological needs — they feel hunger. Hunger can be temporary, such as not having enough to eat for a meal or a day, or can be long lasting when the person does not get enough to eat to maintain his or her physical needs over many days, weeks, months or years. When a person has hunger for a sustained period of time, he or she can develop malnutrition, either mild or severe, depending on one’s body needs and food intake.

For families around the world, hunger means more than going to bed with an empty stomach. Getting the right kind of food at different stages of life can mean the difference between becoming a healthy adult — or not.

Growing up malnourished can inhibit development, make it hard to focus in school, and later contribute to complications during pregnancy.

Right now, there is enough food in the world to make sure that every single person on the planet gets the food they need to lead a healthy life. But factors like poverty, access and gender inequality are still preventing much of the world from getting enough food.

That means if everyone had equal access to food now, no one in the world would go hungry. But even if those factors that prevent access to food disappeared, we would eventually run out of food.

By 2050 the world population is expected to reach over 9 billion. Food production will need to nearly double in developing countries to provide enough food for everyone to eat

Malnutrition is defined as any disorder of nutrition. It may result from an unbalanced, insufficient or excessive diet or from impaired absorption, assimilation or use of foods. Overnutrition, a condition of excess nutrient and energy intake over time, may be regarded as a form of malnutrition when it leads to morbid obesity. Undernutrition is a condition of malnutrition caused by an inadequate food supply or an inability to use the nutrients in food

The term ‘Chronic malnutrition’ refers to lower intake of nutrients than the body needs over a long period of time. This type of undernutrition can cause young children to be

·         stunted in height,

·         underweight,

·         delayed in developmental capacities such as brain function, and

·         more prone to disease.

Additionally, undernutrition can cause:

·         swollen and bleeding gums,

·         diaainess and fatigue,

·         decaying teeth, among other symptoms.

It is not as visible as severe malnutrition, hence receives less media attention than famines or outright starvation, for instance, nevertheless it is a much larger and chronic problem. Severe malnutrition, particularly in young children and infants, can lead to death.

. Here are 10 facts about the experiences of malnutrition in children:

1.   Malnutrition can begin as early as conception. If a mother does not receive proper nutrition during pregnancy, her child will already be at risk of developmental problems. This means that early intervention is crucial.

2.   Children have a two-year period, beginning at conception and continuing into infancy, known as the “window of opportunity.” During this time, a child can be guarded against the most devastating effects of malnutrition.

3.   Malnutrition presents itself in three ways: stunting (shorter-than-average height), wasting (having a low weight for one’s height) and being underweight (having a low weight for one’s age.)

4.   A malnourished child can suffer neurological damage. Brain damage is one of many health issues caused by malnutrition, and it can lower IQ, even resulting in mental retardation for some children.

5.   Children are affected in more areas than their brains — their immune systems are at risk, too. Children who are malnourished are more likely to die from common childhood ailments, like diarrhea and respiratory illnesses.

6.   Malnutrition is more than just a lack of food, it’s a lack of nutrients. Malnourished children often suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which have the most negative effects on their health. Recall that children suffering from hunger can develop brain damage. This is due in part to iron deficiency; so is the decreased ability to fight off common infections.

7.   Child hunger kills in colossal numbers. It contributes one-third of the 8 million deaths each year of children younger than 5 years old.

8.   The main cause of child malnutrition is poverty. Conversely, hunger contributes to poverty, creating a vicious cycle. Another factor contributing to malnutrition is conflict: years of civil war in Libya have put parents in a difficult position without access to food for their families. Natural disasters, particularly droughts and floods, are also contributors to child malnutrition.

9.   North Korea had the highest percentage of children under 5 years old who were underweight between the years of 1995 and 2000, and 60 percent of children under 5 were underweight during this time.

10.         As of 2000, more than half of the world’s underweight children lived in southern Asia.

Unfortunately, many of today’s food aid programs are not targeting malnutrition. The programs are relying heavily on a corn-soy cereal blend that simply does not contain the required nutrients to keep children from becoming malnourished. While these programs are relieving hunger, many children receiving aid are still deprived of valuable nutrients that they will need to grow into successful, healthy adults.