MALNUTRITION AND POVERTY

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to discuss the problem of malnutrition within the framework of the global need for development and the challenges posed by the trends of neoliberalism and globalization. We argue that there is a two-way link between poverty and health in which nutrition plays an important role both as an active and as a mediating factor. Key concepts are exposed and expanded: (a) Development per se does not ensure better health; (b) unequal distribution of income has an independent effect on health indicators after adjusting for total income; (c) improving health can make an important contribution to reducing poverty; (d ) improving nutrition throughout the whole life course is an indispensable strategy for better health; (e) obesity has to be included amongst the most critical health problems, has different traits, and presents with different challenges in the developing world and in the industrialized countries.

Effect of nutrition education on the knowledge scores of urban households with home gardens in Morogoro, Tanzania

“…Home gardens have been associated with an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption which could be also associated with an improvement in the nutritional status [6]. Poor nutrition is associated with a low resistance to illness and poor disease outcomes [7]. Consequences of poor…”

Food-Poverty Status and Food Insecurity in Rural West Lombok Based on Mothers' Food Expenditure Equivalency

“…A person, a family, or a nation is not deemed poor only because of low income [2]. Poverty may lead to a multiplicity of deprivations, which translate into lack of financial resources or income, lack of health facilities, lack of knowledge, and the tendency to live in communities that have weak institutions and have social norms that are not conducive to good nutrition and health.…”

Fatness and overweight in women and children from riverine Amerindian communities of the Beni River (Bolivian Amazon)

“…The explosion of so-called "obesity epidemics" and increased awareness 6 that non-industrialized countries are also affected have prompted numerous investigations. The rise in obesity is worrisome in developing countries since, in addition to its individual clinical 8 harm, it is likely to represent an unaffordable cost in funding of public health institutions in terms of diagnosis, handling, treatment and rehabilitation of patients (Pena and Bacallao 2002). 10 The situation in developing countries is obscured by the coexistence of overweight or obesity 12 and undernutrition, especially chronic malnutrition.…”