Risk of Non-Communicable Diseases Due to Lack of Nutrition

• Nutrition is one of the most significant determinants of human health as it provides the body with essential building blocks for growth, development, and maintenance of a healthy status throughout life (Eggersdorfer and Walter, 2011).
• The co-existing issues of undernutrition and overnutrition require health authorities to deliver appropriate dietary management recommendations (GNR 2017). Health authorities mainly target problems associated with obesity and cardiovascular diseases in developed countries by focusing on reducing excess intake of calories, sugar, salt, and saturated fats.
• However, in the Indian scenario, malnutrition and the non-communicable diseases arising as a side effect of malnutrition have created a more adverse scenario than overnutrition.

Reasons for the Rise in Non-Communicable Diseases

• Indian diet is majorly based on staple crops, such as maize, wheat, rice, and cassava, and grains are known to have poorer digestibility and amino acid profiles than animal-based products and plant-based legume alternatives (Wu, 2016).
• This often results in hidden hunger due to the fact that they provide a large share of energy with very low amounts of essential vitamins and minerals.
• Micronutrient deficiency can cause mortality and morbidity and has severe consequences – like low cognitive development, lowering of IQ, reducing physical work capacity leading to obesity, adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, reduced individual earning, and ultimately losses to GDP (Hoeft et al., 2012).

Various Non-Communicable Diseases and Risk Factors

• Hidden malnutrition also reduces the immunological capacity of an individual which is essential to be maintained at optimal levels to ensure the body’s defense against diseases and prevent recurrent infections.
• Vitamin D is involved in bone homeostasis and low vitamin D levels have been mainly implicated in musculoskeletal disorders including bone and muscle health.
• Poor physical activity and diet rich in saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, and salt, have been often correlated to poor cardiac health leading to hypertension, dyslipidemia, elevated fasting blood glucose, and central obesity (Mozaffarian, 2016).
• Low levels of B-vitamins have been observed as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Clinical manifestation of malnutrition also includes night blindness (due to vitamin A deficiency), goiter (due to iodine deficiency), and anemia (due to iron and folate deficiency).

Sources:
De P, Chattopadhyay N (2019) Effects of malnutrition on child development: Evidence from a backward district of India. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 7(3); 439-445.
Wu, G. (2016). Dietary protein intake and human health. Food Function. 7, 1251–1265. doi: 10.1039/c5fo01530h
Global Nutrition Report (GNR) 2018.
Mozaffarian D. (2016) Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity: A Comprehensive Review. Circulation. 133:187–225.
Eggersdorfer M., Walter P. (2011) Emerging nutrition gaps in a world of affluence—Micronutrient intake and status globally. Int. J. Vitam. Nutr. Res. 81:238–239.
Hoeft B., Weber P., Eggersdorfer M. Micronutrients—A global perspective on intake, health benefits and economics. (2012) Int. J. Vitam. Nutr. Res. 82:316–320.
Global Nutrition Report (GNR) (2017), Nourishing the SDGs.