POVERTY AND NUTRITION Homework Help

POVERTY AND NUTRITION

The World Bank defines poverty to mean an income level below some minimum level necessary to meet the basic needs. This minimum level is what is called the poverty line. Something that is necessary to satisfy the basic needs in one place may differ with other places. This means that the poverty line differs from one country to another. Where the living standards are high the poverty line is higher than in those areas where the living standards are low the poverty line is low creating a distinct difference in the definition of poverty line. This definition of poverty creates a direct link with nutrition. Nutrition is defined as the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for the health and growth (World Health Organization, n.da). From these two definitions each one of them will affect the other in that living in poverty means that access to nutrition is limited.
2.0 Discussion

To create a link between poverty and nutrition, there are some terms which must be understood. Poverty will lead to a bad nutrition. To get to the bad nutrition, the aspect of hunger and health also comes in. Therefore, the terms poverty, hunger, nutrition, and health have to be expounded for the purpose of understanding their relationship.
2.1 Poverty
With the knowledge that living in poverty means living below a minimum level normally called a poverty line, the conclusion to make is that those who live in a state of poverty do not have access to a lot of basic needs. Poverty is a state of lack of these basic needs (Powel, 2007). One will lack access to water, food, clothing, and shelter. Lack of food is needed for a good nutrition. Since nutrition is the process of obtaining food for necessary health and growth, poverty acts as an obstacle to nutrition. Poverty, hunger, and health are all related in maintaining a balance in life. To achieve good health one must be free from hunger and to be free from hunger means that one is living above the poverty line.
The World Health Organization defines poverty to include the lack of access to health services. A person who lives in poverty is denied some of the most basic needs in life. This person has no access to food, water, shelter and cannot even seek medical attention when need arises. This means that the person will suffer as compared to others who do not live below that poverty line. Poverty alienates this person from the society and the end result is that this person cannot live a normal life (Powel, 2007). Poverty will deny a person a chance to get food. This means the person goes hungry and the connection between hunger and poverty is created.
2.2 Hunger
The World Health Organization defines hunger to mean a feeling of discomfort caused by lack of food World Health Organization, (n.db). Hunger is the want of or the scarcity of food in a country. People who live in hunger can go days without food. The food they access does not fulfill the nutritional requirement meaning that their health is affected. In many third world countries hunger is still a problem to be tackled. Most of these countries rely on humanitarian organizations to help them to deal with hunger. They do not have resources on their own and this also brings in the aspect of poverty.
If a country cannot be able to help out its citizens in times of need especially when it comes to hunger, a conclusion can be drawn that the levels of poverty in that country are really high (Powel, 2007). The issue of poverty can be one of the major causes of hunger. In many countries hunger is associated with lack of food which in turn they associate with climatic conditions.Howeverif each citizen lived above the poverty line this means that they accessibility to food could be average and that the country would not face a lot of challenges in eradicating hunger. Hunger can therefore be said to be a direct product of poverty.
2.3 Nutrition
Nutrition is defined as the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for the health and growth (UN, World Food Program). Nutrition among all these factors is the most closely related to health. If the requisite food is not taken it will lead to a bad health. The type of food we take also determines our health. With the direct link between health and nutrition, nutrition will cause us to have a good health or a bad one. Food can free us from hunger but if it is not in line with the nutritional requirements it will lead to a bad health. This means that to understand the relation between nutrition and health we must look at health first.
2.4 Health
The World Health Organization defined health as the condition of being totally well in terms of physical, mental, and social welfare and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Our daily intake of food is what defines our healthy. This is that reason behind all the healthy eating talk. Doctors insist on a well-balanced diet so as to achieve a good health.
Health is also affected by other factors such as environment, our daily routine of activities and genetics (World Health Organization, (n.da). These factors play a minor role since they can be countered by the food we take. Contrary to most people’s belief that we eat to stay alive, we eat to stay healthy and it is the good health that keeps us alive. A good health can therefore be achieved through a good diet. When there is a good diet the issue of nutrition is covered.
2.4 Correlation between poverty, hunger, and health
When poverty denies a person the access to basic needs one of those needs is food. Lack of food will cause hunger. Hunger then means that the nutritional value of the food intake is either poor or there is no value, since one may not even have the food needed. When the nutritional value is poor, the effect on health is that one is going to suffer from diet related illnesses (World Health Organization, n.dc).
With poverty in place, there is no food, no access to health facilities, or other donor aid that can help alleviate the poverty. Poverty first affects the type of food we take. There is the reduction in income, then the change in diet and eventually the lack of food. Food determines our nutrition. The intake will have a positive or a negative effect on our bodies. Health practitioners explain that the nutritional value in food will affect our health. It is therefore right to say that health and nutrition cannot be separated when it comes to discussing hunger. Another point is that poverty will negatively affect our ability to gain food, thus contributing to a poor health because of the poor nutritional value in our food.
Poverty therefore affects our nutrition by limiting the nutritional value of the food we take (UNFPA, n.d). This is from the fact that the food we take has been in turn affected by our inaccessibility of basic needs. Our health will eventually be poor.
3.0 Summary of the key points

Poverty is not only living below the minimum level wage but also the lack of access of basic needs one of them being food. Nutrition involves the obtaining and processing of food, however when poverty licks in the availability of food is limited leading to a poor nutritional value. The poor nutritional value in turn affects our health. Health is not the lack of injury but the complete well-being of the body. The complete well-being is achieved through a good diet thus the nutritional value in or food intake being high. This means that it contributes to our health directly.

4.0 References

Powel, C. (2007). Nutrition. In Markle, W. H., Fisher, M., & Smego, R. A. (Eds), Understanding global health (pp. 104-127). The McGraw-Hill, Columbus, OH. Retrieved on 8th January 2012 from: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47566859/Understanding%20Global%20Health%20Chapter%206.pdf
UN World Food Program, (n.d). Nutrition. Retrieved on 8th January 2012 from: http//www.wfp.org/
UNFPA, (n.d). Population and Poverty. Retrieved on 8th January 2012 from: http://www.unfpa.org/pds/
World Health Organization, (n.da). Poverty. Retrieved on 8th January 2012 from: http//www.whoint/topics/poverty/en
World Health Organization, (n.db). Nutrition. Retrieved on 8th January 2012 from: http//www.whoint/nutrition/en
World Health Organization, (n.dc). Poverty and Health. Retrieved on 8th January 2012 from: http://www.who.int/hdp/poverty/en/