 |  Perspectives in Nutrition, 5/e Gordon M. Wardlaw,
Ohio State University
Margaret W. Kessel,
Ohio State University
Undernutrition throughout the World
Chapter 20 Summary- Poverty is commonly linked to undernutrition. Malnutrition can occur
when the food supply is either scarce or abundant. The resulting deficiency
conditions and degenerative diseases are influenced by genetic makeup.
- Undernutrition is the most common form of malnutrition in developing
countries. It results from inadequate intake, absorption, or use of nutrients
or food energy. Many deficiency conditions consequently appear, and infectious
diseases thrive because the immune system cannot function properly.
- The greatest risk of undernutrition occurs during critical periods
of growth and development: gestation, infancy, and childhood. Low birth weight
is a leading cause of infant deaths worldwide. Many developmental problems are
caused by nutritional deprivation during critical periods of brain growth. People
in their later years are also at greater risk.
- Undernutrition diminishes both physical and mental capabilities.
In poor countries, this is worsened by recurrent infections, unsanitary conditions,
extreme weather, inadequate shelter, and exposure to diseases.
- In the United States, famine has been nonexistent since the 1930s,
but undernutrition remains. Soup kitchens, food stamps, school lunch and breakfast
programs, and the Special Supplemental Feeding Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) have focused on improving the nutritional health of poor and
at-risk people. When adequately funded, these programs have proved effective
in reducing undernutrition. The need to reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies remains
a national priority because single parents and their children are likely to
live in poverty.
- Multiple factors contribute to the problem of undernutrition in the
developing world. In densely populated countries, food resources, as well as
the means for distributing food, may be inadequate. Farming methods often encourage
erosion, which deprives the soil of valuable nutrients and thereby hampers future
efforts to grow food. Limited water availability limits food production. Naturally
occurring devastation from droughts, excessive rainfall, fire, crop infestation,
and human causes--such as urbanization, war and civil unrest, debt, and poor
sanitation--all contribute to the major problem of undernutrition.
- Proposed solutions to world undernutrition must include consideration
of the interaction of multiple factors, many of which are thoroughly embedded
in cultural traditions. Family planning efforts, for example, may not succeed
until life expectancy increases. Through education, efforts should be made to
upgrade farming methods, improve crops through applications of biotechnology,
encourage breastfeeding when it is safe to do so, and improve sanitation and
hygiene. Direct food aid is only a short-term solution. In what may appear to
be a step backward, many experts recommend sustainable subsistence-level farming,
away from the specialization of cash crops, to increase the economic status
of poor people. Small-scale industrial development is another way to create
meaningful employment and purchasing power for vast numbers of the rural poor.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education