Hunger is a lack of food over a long period of time, while malnutrition is a lack of vitamins and minerals even if enough calories are consumed. Malnutrition can lead to serious health complications and even death, but it kills much more slowly than starvation. In industrialized nations, many people are malnourished due to consuming foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients.
Hunger and malnutrition are similar in that with both conditions the body is not getting the nutrition it needs to thrive and grow. There are also major differences between the two. Hunger is a term used to describe a condition in which the body does not get enough food, usually over a long period of time. Eventually, if the body remains in this state, it will begin to shut down. Malnutrition is a term which means that the body does not get enough vitamins and minerals to maintain good health, even if enough calories are consumed. It is possible that even the obese are malnourished if the foods consumed do not have a high nutritional value.
Many people do not fully understand the differences between hunger and malnutrition, as both involve a lack of proper diet and nutrition. Technically, starving people are also malnourished, but you don’t have to give up food to suffer from malnutrition. Western society, especially the United States, is full of people who are severely overweight but also suffer from extreme malnutrition. They are not starving and usually consume substantially more calories than they need.
Health complications are also different when starvation and malnutrition are compared. When someone is truly hungry, meaning they are not eating or not eating enough, the body begins to draw on its internal stores of fat and vitamins to survive. Your metabolism slows down dramatically in an effort to conserve energy and burn fewer calories. Ultimately, only the most vital systems are kept going, such as breathing and heart rate. If the situation doesn’t change, the organ systems all eventually shut down and death is the end result.
Malnutrition can also kill people, but in a very different way. Starvation denies the body calories, fat and carbohydrates in general so it cannot function for long. This means that the lack of vitamins and minerals is not that important because death occurs before the body feels the effects of not having them. This is not the case with malnutrition.
Those suffering from malnutrition are not necessarily hungry. Many are eating thousands of calories a day, but aren’t consuming enough vitamins and minerals and are eating too many refined carbohydrates and processed foods. This can lead to short-term weight gain, fatigue, and digestive upset. Long-term results can include cancer, heart disease, fatty organs and diabetes. Any of these conditions can cause serious complications and even death.
Although hunger and malnutrition are both potentially life-threatening, malnutrition kills much more slowly. It can take many years or even decades for the disease to develop in those who are malnourished. By comparison, the body can only go about eight weeks or less without food before death occurs.
Another difference between hunger and malnutrition is that the two conditions generally occur in very different areas of the world. Hunger is an epidemic in some nations of the developing world, while people in industrialized nations have an overabundance of food but are not consuming the right kinds. In many cases, hunger in poor countries is not always preventable, although there are organizations that offer assistance. This is not the case in wealthier nations, as many individuals choose to eat foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients. In these cases, malnutrition is entirely preventable.
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