Hesperian Health Guides
Chapter 11: Eating for Good Health
Many illnesses can be prevented if people have enough good food to eat.
More Information
low status of women.We all need good food to do our daily work, to prevent illness, and to live safe and healthy lives. And yet, around the world, more women suffer from poor nutrition than any other health problem. This can cause exhaustion, weakness, disability, and general poor health.
There are many reasons for hunger and not eating well. A main reason is poverty. In many parts of the world, a few people own most of the wealth and land. They may grow crops for export instead of food to be eaten locally because they make more money that way. Or poor people may farm small plots of borrowed land, while the owners take a big share of the harvest.
Poverty is hardest on women. In many families, women and girls are fed less than men and boys, no matter how little there is to eat. So the problems of hunger and poor nutrition will never be completely solved until land and other resources are shared fairly, and women and girls have equal value and importance as men and boys.
Still, there are many things people can do now to eat better at low cost. One important way is to avoid highly processed âjunkâ foods that contain a lot of sugar, salt, or oil but provide little nutrition. And when people are not suffering from hunger every day, they are more able to think about their familiesâ and communitiesâ needs and to work for change.