5 ms·

Malnourishment harms anyone, and severe malnourishment at childhood harms a lot https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/child-nutrition-increased-global-in

by chr1 7y ago

Malnourishment harms anyone, and severe malnourishment at childhood harms a lot https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/child-nutrition-increased-global-investment-by-bjorn-lomborg-2019-07 https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/child-nutrition... but mostly in poor countries. A nice variant of basic income is minimal tax return when everyone gets tax return proportional to a small percentage of the total tax collected past year. This would allow to gradually reduce other forms of social payments, without introducing arbitrary fixed values for the amount of basic income.

droithomme 7y ago
Is malnourishment a problem among the poor in the US? Looking around, it seems the problem of the poor in the US is obesity.
- zanny 7y ago
  About 1/10 households were food insecure in the US last year according to the government itself: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx#foodsecure https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/fo...
- thatguy0900 7y ago
  If all you get to eat is cheap processed junk food you can be both obese and malnourished
- crankylinuxuser 7y ago
  I'd argue yes, malnourishment is a problem in the US primarily due to sugar subsidies. Remember that malnourishment != starvation. It can be eating heavily processed foods with extra sugar (in 1 of the 56 different approved names for sugar by the FDA). Or it can be from soda in myriad forms. Or packed and hidden in the aisles of a grocery store of, again, high prpocessed and low nutrient foods. Or they're in a food desert in the extreme rural areas or the big cities. And I'd definitely classify obesity as a type of malnourishment. Mal- just means bad.
- drdrey 7y ago
  Lots of kids from poor families start the school day hungry https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/03/give-kids-free-lunch-and-breakfast https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/03/give-k...
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  I dropped multiple dress sizes by improving my nutrition. I also got my younger son to drop weight without dieting by buying him dark chocolate as a means to discourage him from eating chocolate pop tarts. I learned he was eating chocolate pop tarts all day, concluded he was specifically craving cocoa and found him a better source of cocoa so he could get enough cocoa with fewer calories. I suspect obesity is frequently due to getting too little nutrition while getting enough/too much in the way of calories. You keep eating precisely because you are malnourished and it fosters cravings.
  - finebalance 7y ago
    I think you've hit the nail on the head here. I live in a country where people don't get enough protein due to religious and cultural dietary restrictions. Once I got my own apartment I upped my protein intake and significantly limited my carbs, and found that the constant cravings I'd had pretty much my entire life decreased substantially, after a short but painful transition period.

by chr1 7y ago

droithomme 7y ago

Is malnourishment a problem among the poor in the US? Looking around, it seems the problem of the poor in the US is obesity.

zanny 7y ago
About 1/10 households were food insecure in the US last year according to the government itself: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx#foodsecure https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/fo...
thatguy0900 7y ago
If all you get to eat is cheap processed junk food you can be both obese and malnourished
crankylinuxuser 7y ago
I'd argue yes, malnourishment is a problem in the US primarily due to sugar subsidies. Remember that malnourishment != starvation. It can be eating heavily processed foods with extra sugar (in 1 of the 56 different approved names for sugar by the FDA). Or it can be from soda in myriad forms. Or packed and hidden in the aisles of a grocery store of, again, high prpocessed and low nutrient foods. Or they're in a food desert in the extreme rural areas or the big cities. And I'd definitely classify obesity as a type of malnourishment. Mal- just means bad.
drdrey 7y ago
Lots of kids from poor families start the school day hungry https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/03/give-kids-free-lunch-and-breakfast https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/03/give-k...
DoreenMichele 7y ago
I dropped multiple dress sizes by improving my nutrition. I also got my younger son to drop weight without dieting by buying him dark chocolate as a means to discourage him from eating chocolate pop tarts. I learned he was eating chocolate pop tarts all day, concluded he was specifically craving cocoa and found him a better source of cocoa so he could get enough cocoa with fewer calories. I suspect obesity is frequently due to getting too little nutrition while getting enough/too much in the way of calories. You keep eating precisely because you are malnourished and it fosters cravings.
- finebalance 7y ago
  I think you've hit the nail on the head here. I live in a country where people don't get enough protein due to religious and cultural dietary restrictions. Once I got my own apartment I upped my protein intake and significantly limited my carbs, and found that the constant cravings I'd had pretty much my entire life decreased substantially, after a short but painful transition period.