How Serious Is Hunger in America? Essay

Malnutrition and Children in the U.S.

How serious is the effect of undernourishment and malnutrition on children and infants? According to The World Bank, a child that is undernourished can expect "devastating and enduring" problems in life. Behavioral and cognitive development can be impaired, and whether or not a child is well-nourished in his or her first years can have "a profound effect on his or her health status" (World Bank). This paper reviews the results of undernourishment and malnourishment on children, and suggests ways to reduce childhood malnutrition and the undernourishment of children in the United States.

American Kids Do Go Hungry

A report broadcast by ABC News reveals that up to 17 million children struggle daily with what is called "food insecurity"; that is, one in four children do not have access to "enough nutritious food to live a healthy life" (Brown, 2011). ABC New got its data from a study called "Map the Meal Child Food Insecurity 2011," and the article claims that lack of nutrition can "permanently alter a child's brain architecture, stunting intellectual capacity" along with a child's ability to do well in school and have positive interactions with peers (Brown, p. 1).

Dr.Reynaldo Martorell with The World Bank explains that undernutrition during intrauterine life and in the early years has "…general effects on cognitive development" including "lower IQs (lower by 15 points or more in the severely malnourished)" (World Bank). Martorell is referring not to malnourishment but also to undernourishment; and he explains that the nutrients that children need but do not get sufficient quantities of when they are under nourished include "iodine deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia"; the best way to meet all the nutritional needs of children is to assure they receive "natural or fortified foods prepared appropriately for young children" (World Bank).

Martorell also asserts that undernutrition has a "greater effect on development in children" who live in poverty, no matter whether they live in rural or urban environments, than undernutrition has on children that are not poor….....