Multiple Micronutrient Malnutrition

The basic cause of malnutrition (protein-energy malnutrition [PEM] and micronutrient malnutrition) is poverty. Although lack of care, health, and environmental conditions are important components in the etiology of malnutrition, lack of access to food is still one of the major underlying causes of malnutrition. There is strong correlation between a country’s gross national product (GNP) and its level of malnutrition. However, the challenge facing nutritionists and other professionals in the field of health is to identify strategies to prevent malnutrition that are economically feasible.