Clinically, malnutrition is characterized by inadequate intake of protein, energy, and micronutrients and by frequent infections or disease. Nutritional status is the result of the complex interaction between the food we eat, our overall state of health, and the environment in which we live in short, food, health and caring, the three pillars of well-being . Malnutrition affects one in every three people worldwide, afflicting all age groups and populations, especially the poor and vulnerable.
Malnutrition has economic ripple effects that can jeopardize development.