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Parent Category: Advanced News Lessons

Category: Health Lessons

Written by Chris Cotter

How important is getting the right kind of food? According to a World Bank report, it's very important, perhaps more important than previously assumed.

The report warns that young children who don't eat enough food, or more specifically, children who don't eat enough of the right kind of food, suffer lasting damage. At aged two and under, the children are underweight and underdeveloped. They are more susceptible to disease, and may also suffer from health problems later in life. They generally have lower intelligence levels. This leads to malnourished children who, as they get older, are more likely to drop out of school and earn less money as adults. In some drought affected regions of Africa, for example, the number of hungry children hovers as high as 30%. But India, Southeast Asia, and parts of South America face similar problems.

Although the news proves alarming on a humanitarian level alone, there are economic implications, too. Combating malnutrition absorbs as much as 3% of a developing country's annual GDP, the same report indicates. When you take into account an annual growth rate of two or three percent for many of these countries, reducing the number of malnourished could then help double their economic growth. Yet many developing countries and international aid organizations are failing to take effective action.

Rather than simply provide more food, the World Bank report suggests establishing educational programs in health and nutrition for mothers with young babies. It also recommends more sanitaryliving conditions and improvements in health care.