Where and Who is malnutrition
Figure 1: This chart was created using data from the FAO
Malnutrition is everywhere. It is seen in the United States, in Australia, and in Europe. While most cases of malnourishment do occur in developing countries, the problem of malnutrition is truly global.
Because there are so many forms of malnutrition, it is extremely difficult to measure the world population of malnourished individuals. However, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has done extensive studies following undernourished individuals (this means individuals with PEM or a combination of PEM and other types of malnutrition). While global hunger statics collect data on only a percentage of all malnourished individuals, they do provide a glimpse of the bigger picture.
According to this research there are 925 million undernourished people in the world. This means that approximately one in seven people on the planet live in hunger (And don’t forget – more people than this are malnourished!).
Figure 1 shows which in regions of the world hunger is most prevalent. As I am focusing on Guatemala, a country, which falls in the grouping of “Latin America and the Caribbean,” I would like to expand upon the percentages of undernourished in Latin American countries and particularly Guatemala itself.
In Latin America about 10% of people are affected by undernutrition, and almost 9 million children (16%) under five suffer from chronic malnutrition. Of all countries in Latin America, Guatemala has the highest rate of children with chronic malnutrition (over 50%). This is followed by the countries of Honduras, where 29% of children suffer from chronic malnutrition, and Boliva (27%) (Obrar).
As stated earlier, the number of people suffering from all types of malnutrition is difficult to determine, however some studies have been made to come closer to the figure. In 2003, a study was done on the prevalence of malnutrition in Latin America. General hospitals from the countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rica, Venezuela and Uruguay were used in the study. Patients who entered the hospital (and who had not been hospitalized within 6 months before the study) were randomly selected to participate in the study each week until the predetermined sample size per country was met. While this study was not wholly representative of all Latin American citizens, conclusions were striking. 50.2% of patients were diagnosed with malnutrition, with severe malnutrition in 11.2% of patients. Additionally, while the prevalence of malnutrition was extremely high, “nutritional therapy” was only prescribed to few patients and “physicians’ awareness of malnutrition was weak” (Isabel Correia et. al). This is a problem again, becoming more prevalent as malnutrition is culturally assumed to be equivalent to hunger and other types of malnutrition are overlooked.
As for the other key types of malnutrition, a few relevant statistics have been collected. Iron deficiency and anemia (IDA) “affects about 43% of women and 34% of men in developing countries and is usually most serious in pregnant women and children.” Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects “at least 280 million preschool children in over 60 countries.” It is averaged that “over two billion are considered at risk for IDD” Iodine deficiency disease, however this number may currently be considerably lower due to “mandatory salt iodization” in the last few decades (Stephenson).
Because there are so many forms of malnutrition, it is extremely difficult to measure the world population of malnourished individuals. However, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has done extensive studies following undernourished individuals (this means individuals with PEM or a combination of PEM and other types of malnutrition). While global hunger statics collect data on only a percentage of all malnourished individuals, they do provide a glimpse of the bigger picture.
According to this research there are 925 million undernourished people in the world. This means that approximately one in seven people on the planet live in hunger (And don’t forget – more people than this are malnourished!).
Figure 1 shows which in regions of the world hunger is most prevalent. As I am focusing on Guatemala, a country, which falls in the grouping of “Latin America and the Caribbean,” I would like to expand upon the percentages of undernourished in Latin American countries and particularly Guatemala itself.
In Latin America about 10% of people are affected by undernutrition, and almost 9 million children (16%) under five suffer from chronic malnutrition. Of all countries in Latin America, Guatemala has the highest rate of children with chronic malnutrition (over 50%). This is followed by the countries of Honduras, where 29% of children suffer from chronic malnutrition, and Boliva (27%) (Obrar).
As stated earlier, the number of people suffering from all types of malnutrition is difficult to determine, however some studies have been made to come closer to the figure. In 2003, a study was done on the prevalence of malnutrition in Latin America. General hospitals from the countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rica, Venezuela and Uruguay were used in the study. Patients who entered the hospital (and who had not been hospitalized within 6 months before the study) were randomly selected to participate in the study each week until the predetermined sample size per country was met. While this study was not wholly representative of all Latin American citizens, conclusions were striking. 50.2% of patients were diagnosed with malnutrition, with severe malnutrition in 11.2% of patients. Additionally, while the prevalence of malnutrition was extremely high, “nutritional therapy” was only prescribed to few patients and “physicians’ awareness of malnutrition was weak” (Isabel Correia et. al). This is a problem again, becoming more prevalent as malnutrition is culturally assumed to be equivalent to hunger and other types of malnutrition are overlooked.
As for the other key types of malnutrition, a few relevant statistics have been collected. Iron deficiency and anemia (IDA) “affects about 43% of women and 34% of men in developing countries and is usually most serious in pregnant women and children.” Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects “at least 280 million preschool children in over 60 countries.” It is averaged that “over two billion are considered at risk for IDD” Iodine deficiency disease, however this number may currently be considerably lower due to “mandatory salt iodization” in the last few decades (Stephenson).