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5. Damage to Ecosystems:

Malnutrition and Famine

OBJECTIVES
> To recall that malnutrition is a condition resulting from a defective diet where certain important food
nutrients (such as proteins, vitamins, or carbohydrates) may be absent
> To remember that malnutrition can lead to deficiency diseases
> To understand some of the reasons why famines occur including over-use of land for agriculture.

A high global death rate linked to malnutrition has arisen from famine situations caused by a number of
natural problems as well as by socio-political factors, such as alcohol and drug abuse, poverty, and war.
As well as suffering from a deficiency disease, a malnourished person is usually more at risk from other
diseases (as the immune system may be very much reduced in efficiency) and a society with many
malnourished individuals experiences mounting problems:
Adults become ill and cannot work, so little money is available to buy food.
Children become ill, and so adults must attempt to care for them (often going without food
themselves).
Older, weaker people will die and the society is deprived of their experience and knowledge.

13 Learning Module Organisms and Their Environment | Class 11