Understanding hunger and malnutrition

better nutrition, better lives UNDERSTANDING HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION Undernourishment or chronic hunger is the inability of persons to consume enough food sufficient to meet dietary energy requirements. Undernourishment is down from more than 1 billion in 1992 to around 805 million today, a fall of 21 percent; 161 million children are stunted 99 million children are 51 million children wasted due to due to chronic malnutrition underweight acute malnutrition WHO, 2013 Malnutrition, in all its forms, is a major impediment to development. Malnutrition occurs when a person's diet contains too few or too many nutrients. Micronutrient deficiencies or "hidden hunger" affect around 2 billion people Obesity affects around half a billion adults The consequences of malnutrition range from: increased risk of death increased prevalence of diet-related serious chronic health non-communicable diseases conditions Most of the world's undernourished people are still found in Southern Asia, followed by sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. EASTERN ASIA 161 million SOUTHERN ASIA LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 276 million 37 million 214 million 117 million in other regions There is no "ideal" diet that is right for everyone. While individual nutritional and dietary needs vary with age, sex, health, status and activity levels, most general dietary advice for adults recommends the following: Eat starchy carbohydrates as the basis of most meals Eat variety of fruits and vegetables every day Eat legumes regularly Consume milk Eat meat, Choose moderate and milk products regularly poultry, eggs and fish regularly amounts of fats and oils in your diet Drink plenty of water Maintain energy balance to keep a healthy body weight Get regular exercise every day Limit consumption of sugar, sugary foods and beverages Limit consumption of salt Limit consumption of alcohol Investing in nutrition makes economic sense as it improves productivity and economic growth and promotes the health of the nation. www.fao.org/icn2 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations PAN FIAT OFAO - October 2014