Impacts of Undernutrition

Text extracted from

The World Food Problem

Leathers & Foster, 2004

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Delayed Menarche

• Undernourished girls produce less estrogen– Associated with body fat

• Lower estrogen delays the age of menstruation:– USA: 12.8 yrs old

– Rural India: 14.4 yrs old

– Rwanda: 17 yrs old

Breast Feeding as Birth Control(Lactational Amenorrhea)

• Prolactin stimulates breast milk– Also suppresses ovulation

• Producing breast milk also reduces fat storage– Thus reduces estrogen– Thus impedes ovulation

• Very effective for 6-12 months after birth

• Most important form of birth control in developing world

Low Birth Weight Babies

• Born to undernourished mothers– PEM

– Iron deficiency

• Much more likely to die in first year

• Early nutrition in girl’s life can affect baby

Breast Feeding

• Improves baby’s health• Contains all nutrients• Fights infection

– Antibodies in milk

• Guaranteed food supply– No competition with other family

members

• Sanitary food supply• 1.5 million children in

developing world die because they are not breast fed

AIDS and Breast Feeding

• Breast milk can pass AIDS virus

• More likely if mother has vitamin A deficiency– 32% if deficiency

– 7% if normal

• Bottle alternative may be less safe

Mother and child with AIDS

Impact of Undernutrition on Infant Mortality

• Probability of dying by age 5– 15.5% in least developed nations– 0.85% in industrialized nations

• Diarrhea leading killer– Pneumonia– Influenza– Bronchitis– Whooping cough– Measles

• Malnutrition contributes to ½ of these deaths in developing world

Infant Mortality

Impact of Undernutrition on Intellectual Development

• Protein supplements given during pregnancy – Improved cognitive

function in children through age 6-7 yrs.

• IQ reduced by child’s deficiency in– Iron– Iodine– Protein

Impact of Undernutrition on Education

• Missed school days

• Special education needs

• Low test scores

• Repeated grades

• Attention deficit disorder– Decreased attention span

– Impaired memory

– Disobedience

– Distractibility

– Reduced progress

Impact of Undernutrition on Labor Productivity

• Work capacity drops severely– Calorie deficiency

– Iron deficiency

• More likely unemployed

• Taller individuals– Better nourished

– More productive

– Stronger

Malnutrition in the Developing World

• 30% of the developing world suffer from one or more forms of malnutrition

Number of Undernourished Dropping

• 918 million – 1970s

• 906 million– 1980s

• 800 million– 2000

• Biggest drop in Asia– 25% drop

• Least drop sub- Saharan Africa– 5% drop

Kosovo refugees

Seasonality of Undernutrition

• Grain prices lowest right after harvest– Nutrition good

• 2,000 Calories/day in Mozambique

– Then supplies dwindle

• Grain prices highest before harvest– Hungry season

• 1,430 Calories/day in Mozambique

– Foraging for wild foods increases

Criteria for worst-off countries

• Calories/person– Kinshasa, Burundi, Eritrea,

Somalia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan

• Child nutrition– North Korea, Afghanistan,

Burundi, Eritrea, Somalia

• Mortality rates for children– Sierra Leone, Angola, Afghanistan

• Low Birth weight babies– Bangladesh, Haiti, Yemen,

IndiaRural Bangladesh Women

What Kinds of People are Undernourished?

• Rural poor– 65% of people are rural in

low income countries

• Children– Especially weaning

• Pregnant, Lactating women• Girls

– Food diverted to brothers

• Uneducated families• Large families• Elderly