Undernourished children (and adults) often show apathy, muscular weakness, and decreased physical activity and work capability. Since undernutrition decreases resistance to disease, undernourished children are likely to have more frequent infections and to recover more slowly from illness than are well-fed children.
Where extreme food shortages exist, there is no choice but to supply hungry people with food—they are starving and dying. However, reliance on outside help is not a long-range solution. Rather, developing countries need to develop their economies and infrastructures, so that people are able to produce or buy sufficient amounts of nutritious food to meet their needs. Appropriate development includes many aspects: education, control of population growth (if indicated), availability of machinery and other agricultural tools, and nonfarm employment opportunities. Small farms and businesses should be encouraged. As the overall economy expands, more people will be able to afford nutritious food.
