Malnourished people

Abstract: Economic and political aspects of dealing with world malnutrition are delineated and discussed for food andnutrition policy planners. Topics include the need for nutrition policy actions; the consequences of inadequate nutritional intake and its associated costs (in hindering mental development, disease resistance, infant development, and national development); short-term effects of inhibiting the growth process; potential strategies and their costs; new, promising intervention approaches based on nutrition-oriented food policies; and methods for implementing such approaches. Data on a commodity-specific orientation to nutrition-related food policy, the mortality effects of caloric deficiency, the effects of nutrition policy efforts, the costs of nutrition programs, and on dietary standards, are appended. Tabular data on selected countries are presented throughout the text. (wz).