Eight hundred and five million of the world's people are chronically hungry, according to estimates by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
But this figure represents only a fraction of the world's population whose lives have been blighted by a lack of adequate nutrition.
Malnutrition is believed to be the underlying cause of death for 2.6 million children annually. At least two billion people do not get enough of the micronutrients – vitamins, minerals and trace elements – essential for their cognitive and physiological development, especially during early childhood.
As a result, a quarter of the world's children – the number rises to a third in developing countries – are 'stunted'. They are unlikely to reach their full physical or intellectual potential and are vulnerable to disease due to compromised immune systems. Today, about 170 million children under five are stunted. Four in five of these malnourished children are to be found in just twenty countries. Almost half of Indian children under five are stunted. In Nigeria, over half of the poorest children are stunted, while in China, children in poor rural counties are six times more likely to be stunted than urban children. In Indonesia, a sharp rise in 'wasting' – or acute malnutrition – in the wake of recent food crises has hit children from the poorest households hardest.
Meanwhile, over one and a half billion people are overweight, with over half a billion deemed obese, and hence, more vulnerable to diet-related non-communicable diseases.
From here
But this figure represents only a fraction of the world's population whose lives have been blighted by a lack of adequate nutrition.
Malnutrition is believed to be the underlying cause of death for 2.6 million children annually. At least two billion people do not get enough of the micronutrients – vitamins, minerals and trace elements – essential for their cognitive and physiological development, especially during early childhood.
As a result, a quarter of the world's children – the number rises to a third in developing countries – are 'stunted'. They are unlikely to reach their full physical or intellectual potential and are vulnerable to disease due to compromised immune systems. Today, about 170 million children under five are stunted. Four in five of these malnourished children are to be found in just twenty countries. Almost half of Indian children under five are stunted. In Nigeria, over half of the poorest children are stunted, while in China, children in poor rural counties are six times more likely to be stunted than urban children. In Indonesia, a sharp rise in 'wasting' – or acute malnutrition – in the wake of recent food crises has hit children from the poorest households hardest.
Meanwhile, over one and a half billion people are overweight, with over half a billion deemed obese, and hence, more vulnerable to diet-related non-communicable diseases.
From here
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