A not-so-new face of malnutrition
When we think of malnutrition and hunger, we often think of images like the one on the right: empty plates held by thin, hopeful children.
But malnutrition is not always caused by an insufficient amount of food. Those living in poverty, in both the ancient world and today, might not have trouble getting enough food to subsist day to day. The problem is acquiring food that is nutritious, and is affordable enough to fill one's daily calorie needs. |
In the ancient world, the poor needed to meet the energy demands of a lifestyle characterized by hard labor, especially for the rural poor, who worked the land with their own hands or with the help of a few animals, as seen on the bowl on the left.
Cereals were a relatively abundant food, and were the predominant energy source. Vegetables and legumes provided occasional micronutrients and protein. Osborne
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In the modern world, the unavailability of healthy food – whether due to geography, as in a food desert, or due to mere issues of affordability – leads to dietary problems. Foods which are high in fat and sugar are prevalent and
fresh food is hard to come by. Workload has an effect on the modern working class, too: long work hours, sometimes at multiple jobs, make it difficult to find time to prepare balanced meals with fresh ingredients, especially if purchasing those ingredients requires inordinate travel time. Jones, Yaccino
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A bowl of millet may satisfy the day's hunger. An order of fries may fill you up.
But neither, in the long run, will keep you healthy.
But neither, in the long run, will keep you healthy.
Proposed solutions
If low income communities cannot get to places that sell fresh food, then one solution is to bring fresh food to them.
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Another solution is to install sources of fresh food in these communities.
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