The Faces of MalnutritionThe images below are often what comes to mind when people (who have enough to eat) think of those who have very little to eat.

UNICEF, Mozambique and Haiti

What about these images? Young people just hanging out with friends? Well, yes… and no…

The previous images were of homeless teens from a shelter that could be found in almost every city of the Western world. These teens pictured happen to be from Australia.

•Did they look malnourished? Why or why not? What does malnutrition looks like?

•Does the image below look like malnutrition?Technically, it could be called overnutrition or obesity. By whatever name, it is still a form of malnourishment. You can eat to fullness and beyond; you can weigh 100 lbs over your desirable weight, and you can still be suffering from malnutrition. It is a common condition in the urban poor. It’s just cheaper to eat unhealthfully.

Are only the homeless and disadvantaged malnourished? Does a person have to live in a foreign country to be at risk from hunger?

Here are some other faces of malnutition, familiar to us, and yet, not always what we think of as individuals at risk…

…an AIDS patient in hospice care…

…an infant with diarrhea…

…an elderly person in a nursing home

…a young woman with goiter…

…models, celebrities, athletes… all represent the various faces of malnutrition.

Focus on an aspect of this huge issue, and working with your group, find out more. Below are some resource links that will help you dig more deeply into the dimensions of hunger and malnutrition on a local, national and international level, depending upon your area of special interest. Read, reflect, take notes, and be prepared to discuss what you are learning with your group, and in a whole class follow-up discussion.

•Northwest Harvest

•WIC Program of Washington State

•National Alliance to End Homelessness

•Center on Hunger and Poverty (Brandeis University)

•National Center for Farmworker Health

•UNICEF

•State of Food Insecurity in the World (FAO)

•World Health Organization (WHO)