282 Diet and Health
One of the particularly tragic consequences of undernourishment is its impact on
the worlds children. UNICEF calculates that 800 million children worldwide suf-
fer malnutrition at any given time (Figure 13.8 gives the FAO’s estimated locations
of these millions. Table 13.4 then gives the sobering projections for 2015 and
2030.) High proportions of Asian and African mothers are undernourished, largely
due to seasonal food shortages, especially in Africa. About 243 million adults in
developing countries are deemed to be severely undernourished.^39 This type of
adult under-nutrition can impair work capacity and lower resistance to infection.
Against a rapid growth in world population, well-informed observers agree that
greater food production is needed for the future.40–43 One estimate suggests that
by 2020 there will be 1 billion young people growing up with impaired mental
Source: State of Food Insecurity in the World 2000, available at http://www.fao org/DOCREP/
X8200E/x8200e03.htm#P0_0
Figure 13.8 Number of undernourished by region, 1996–1998 (millions)Table 13.4 Projected trends in undernourishment by region, 1996–20301996–98 2015 2030 1996–98 2015 2030
Per cent of population Millions of people
Sub-Saharan Africa 34 22 15 186 184 165
Near East/North Africa 10 8 6 36 38 35
Latin America and the
Caribbean^1175554532
China and India 16 7 3 348 195 98
Other Asia 19 10 5 166 114 70
Developing countries 18 10 6 791 576 400Source: FAO (2000) Agriculture: Towards 2015/30, Technical Interim Report, April, Rome,
FAO, http://www.fao.org