what is malnutrition

The word "malnutrition" is made of two parts "mal" and "nutrition". The prefix "mal" means "bad". So, the etymological meaning of malnutrition is bad nutrition. Malnutrition refers to insufficient, excessive, or imbalanced consumption of nutrients. Malnutrition generally refers to undernutrition. But in developed countries over nutrition is increasingly causing various problems like obesity, heart diseases, etc. We need all the nutrients in our food in a balanced way. Some nutrients can be stored internally (e.g. the fat soluble vitamins) while others are required more or less continuously. Poor health can be caused by lack of required nutrients or, in extreme cases, too much of a required nutrient. For example, salt and water (both absolutely required) will cause illness or even death in excessive amounts. So the concept of the balanced diet is increasingly becoming a global concern. Annually millions of people become the victim of malnutrition. Due to its bad consequences, malnutrition can be defined as the bad condition of health caused by the lack or excess of nutrients required for good health.