Combating Poor Nutrition in India

Poor nutrition is arguably the greatest cause of human suffering in the modern age. Poor nutrition is an imbalance of one type of nutrient relative to other variables such as other nutrients consumed and the exercise levels of the consumer. Poor nutrition manifests itself as malnutrition and over-nutrition. In today’s world, over three billion people, nearly half of the world’s population, are chronically malnourished. Between one and two billion suffer from iron deficiency alone (Prakash). Malnutrition is caused by a lack or imbalance of certain types of nutrients necessary for a healthy life. In this paper, malnutrition is defined as a deficiency in one or more nutrients essential for health. Usually the nutrients lacking are micronutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium and zinc; or amino acids: the building blocks of proteins. Malnutrition results in a reduced ability to work and increased susceptibility to disease, and depending on the nutrients lacking: anemia, blindness, mental retardation, or death. The monetary costs of malnutrition may amount to as much as 5% of the GDP of some third-world countries.