ABSTRACT
What is the magnitude and pattern of undernourishment in the developing world? The nutritionists are not all unanimous on the methodology of estimating undemutrition. Controversies cover a number of aspects. First, there is the controversy relating to the relative importance of calorie deficiency, on the one hand, and deficiency of protein, as well as of vitamins, on the other. It is now agreed among the majority of nutritionists, however, that in most countries the composition of diets is such that whenever they provide enough calories, they also meet the minimum protein requirements. This is true so long as the diet does not consist exclusively of one or two very bulky carbohydrates, so that the amount of carbohydrates which provides adequate amounts of both calories and protein is too large to be consumed and absorbed per day by an average individual. The lack of adequate vitamins and minerals, even if adequate calories are available, causes specific diseases but does not cause an endemic lack of energy and general ill health, which is at the core of undemutrition. The dominant problem in most developing countries is a lack of adequate calories.
