Nutrition

Nutrition (also called nourishment or aliment) is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary (in the form of food) to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with good nutrition.

Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or inadequate diet.

According to the World Health Organization, hunger and malnutrition are the single gravest threats to the world's public health and malnutrition is by far the biggest contributor to child mortality, present in half of all cases.

In addition to infant mortality risks, lifelong malnutrition can begin in utero and is typically associated with the mother's stature (associated with her childhood nutritional status), her nutritional status prior to conception, and diarrheal disease, intestinal parasites, and/or respiratory infection status. Multiple studies have shown that nutritional status of adults is substantially influenced by their nutritional experience from conception through early childhood. Even if individuals have had adequate nutrition from childhood on, their health outcomes are still impacted.

It is therefore extremely important for children to have access to good, healthy food.

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