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21 - Hunger and malnutrition
- Edited by Bjørn Lomborg, Copenhagen Business School
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- Book:
- Solutions for the World's Biggest Problems
- Published online:
- 08 July 2009
- Print publication:
- 18 October 2007, pp 390-404
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Summary
Describing the problem: hunger and malnutrition
Severe hunger episodes, such as famines, receive considerable press coverage and attract public attention. But chronic hunger and malnutrition are considerably more prevalent. At least 12 million low-birth-weight (LBW) births occur per year and around 162 million pre-school children and almost a billion people of all ages are malnourished. In poorly nourished populations, reductions in hunger and improved nutrition convey considerable productivity gains and save resources that otherwise would be used for the care of malnourished people who are more susceptible to infectious diseases and premature mortality. It is these potential gains in productivity and reductions in economic costs that provide the focus of this chapter.
Hunger
This is the “condition, in which people lack the basic food intake to provide them with the energy and nutrients for fully productive lives” (Hunger Task Force, 2004, p. 33). It is measured in terms of calories relative to requirements that vary by age, sex and activities. The most widely cited data on hunger come from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO (2003) estimates that over the last decade, the number of people undernourished in the developing world declined slightly from 816 to 798 million, or from 20 to 17% of the population. Two regions, Asia and the Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa account for nearly 90% of the world's hungry. However, in Asia, both the number (505 million) and prevalence of undernourishment fell during the 1990s in contrast to increases in Africa (198 million).
6 - Hunger and Malnutrition
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- By Jere R. Behrman, William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor in Economics and Director Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Harold Alderman, Lead Human Development Economist Africa Region of the World Bank, Washington, DC, John Hoddinott, Senior Research Fellow Food Consumption and Nutrition Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC
- Edited by Bjørn Lomborg
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- Book:
- How to Spend $50 Billion to Make the World a Better Place
- Published online:
- 27 July 2009
- Print publication:
- 12 June 2006, pp 95-107
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Summary
Introduction: the challenge of hunger and malnutrition
Alongside the tragedy of acute famine, which is frequently shown on our televisions, there is a much bigger problem of chronic hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. Although this carries a very real human cost, it is the purpose of this chapter to look purely at the economic aspects: Assuring better nutrition can both reduce the economic drain on poor societies and help them become wealthier by increasing individuals' productivity.
This chapter reviews the nature and scale of the problem and the economic benefits that would flow from successful solutions. Four opportunity areas for effective use of resources to reduce malnutrition are then proposed:
Reducing the prevalence of Low Birth Weight.
Promotion of infant and child nutrition and exclusive breastfeeding.
Reducing the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia and vitamin A, iodine, and zinc deficiencies.
Investment in technology in developing country agriculture.
Using resources to address these opportunities would yield benefits greater than the cost, so these opportunities are economically justified. Benefits would, of course, also be realized on a wider social and human scale.
The nature of the challenge
Hunger has been described as “a condition in which people lack the basic food intake to provide them with the energy and nutrients for fully productive lives.” Malnutrition, in its strict sense, can be associated with over-consumption of food, resulting for example in obesity, diabetes, or heart disease. Such problems are of increasing importance in some parts of the developing world.
7 - Malnutrition and hunger
- Edited by Bjørn Lomborg, Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
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- Book:
- Global Crises, Global Solutions
- Published online:
- 22 September 2009
- Print publication:
- 25 October 2004, pp 363-442
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Summary
Introduction: The Challenge of Malnutrition and Hunger
While episodes of severe hunger such as famines receive considerable press coverage and attract much public attention, chronic hunger and malnutrition is considerably more prevalent in developing countries. It is estimated that at least 12 m low-birth-weight (LBW) births occur per year and that around 162 million pre-school children and almost a billion people of all ages are malnourished. In poorly nourished populations, reductions in hunger and improved nutrition convey considerable productivity gains as well as saving resources that would otherwise be used for the care of malnourished people who are more susceptible to infectious diseases and premature mortality. While reducing hunger and malnutrition is often justified on intrinsic grounds, it is these potential gains in productivity and reductions in economic costs that provide the focus of our challenge paper.
Poverty, hunger and malnutrition are linked. Strauss and Thomas (1995, 1998) and Hoddinott, Skoufias and Washburn (2000) document the empirical literature relating dimensions of access and intakes of calories to household consumption levels. A reasonable reading of these studies suggests an income–calorie elasticity of around 0.2–0.3, though careful studies have also found estimates both higher and lower than this range. Behrman and Rosenzweig (2004) report that cross-country variation in GDP per worker in PPP terms is inversely related to the percentage of LBW (< 2.5 kg) births among all births and is consistent with almost half of the variation in the percentage of births that are LBW across countries.
Corpus luteum function and regression
- Harold R Behrman, Toshiaki Endo, Raymond F Aten, Biljana Musicki
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- Journal:
- Reproductive Medicine Review / Volume 2 / Issue 3 / October 1993
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 March 2009, pp. 153-180
- Print publication:
- October 1993
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Several conclusions can be drawn from a review of the formation, function and regression of the corpus luteum. Ovulation and luteinization encompass degenerative and growth changes. Inflammatory conditions associated with ovulation lead to the breakdown of the follicle wall and the membrana granulosa, along with initial damage to theca and granulosa cells. The early corpus luteum is, therefore, a tissue in stress. Thus, one view of the corpus luteum is that it, like the phoenix, rises from the inflammatory ashes of the postovulatory follicle to exist briefly and to be consumed by a similar process at regression. The luteinization process is associated with parenchymal cell hypertrophy and matrix remodelling, which appear to be regulated by IGFs and androgens, and with angiogenesis, which is induced mostly by bFGF. High levels of functional activity of the corpus luteum are regulated by control at the level of the LH receptor, whose activation leads to the translocation of cholesterol into the cell and mitochondria for conversion to steroids. Functional luteal regression can be considered as another inflammatory-like condition with apparent activation of the immune system, along with cytokine, reactive oxygen, and eicosanoid production. Structural luteolysis is subsequently invoked that leads to matrix dissolution and cellular degeneration. It is perhaps not surprising that the invocation of immune activation, which causes the production of DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species and cytotoxic cytokines each cycle, may increase the risk of pathologies. One example may be ovarian cancer which appears to be associated with the use of fertility-enhancing drugs and associated with the number of ovulations in a woman's lifetime.