Malnutrition, work output and energy needs

Summary

INTRODUCTION

There continues to be a great deal of interest, particularly among nutritionists and development economists, in the functional significance of malnutrition. The term “malnutrition” generally refers to all deviations from adequate nutrition, including energy undernutrition or overnutrition and specific deficiencies or excesses of essential nutrients. In the context of this presentation, however, the term “malnutrition” refers to the nutritional situation characteristic of low socioeconomic populations in underdeveloped areas of the world. The diets in these populations are characterised by two predominant features: (1) insufficiency in amounts which results in a deficit of food energy for the majority of the people; and (2) limited quality and inadequate number and variety of food items, aspects which constrain the achievement of a balanced diet with appropriate concentrations of all the essential nutrients (nutrient density). The consequence is the concurrence of undernutrition and specific nutritional deficiencies. Alan Berg (1981), from the World Bank, sees malnutrition not only as an outcome of poverty but as a deterrent to economic progress. One way through which Berg (1981) believes malnutrition is damaging is by limiting work capacity and productivity in workers. At the same time, there are those that have criticised nutritionists for exaggerating the extent of world hunger and malnutrition (Seckler, 1980; Poleman, 1981; Sukhatme & Margen, 1982). In their view, malnutrition is not as common or as serious as is generally claimed and therefore should not be included among the significant factors limiting productivity of workers.