Good nutrition is the bedrock of child survival, health and development. Well-nourished children are better able to grow and learn, to participate in and contribute to their communities, and to be resilient in the face of disease, disasters, and other global crises, but for the millions of children suffering from malnutrition, the reality is stark. Every year, around 3 million children die due to undernutrition. For millions more, chronic malnutrition will result in stunting – an irreversible condition that literally stunts the physical and cognitive growth of children. Stunting affects 165 million children under 5 years of age around the world, and it can trap those children in a vicious cycle of poverty and undernutrition.
Sweden has done a lot for child nutrition, only 23.5% of boys of 7 years of age are overweight and only 6.8% are obese. In addition 26.3% of 8 years old are overweight and 9.7% are obese. 22% of 7 year old Girls are overweight and 5.1% are obese. Of 8 year old girls 23.5% are overweight and 6.8% are obese.
One step we can take to fix the problem is we can have richer countries with higher obesity rates can take excess food and distribute it to countries with high malnutrition rates. An extra step to this is that malnutrition rich countries need to evenly distribute food regardless of poverty. A second thing we can do is we can have any extra area turned to greenhouses and farms to distribute more food.
- Bryce Emmons
