Starvation

Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death. The term inanition refers to the symptoms and effects of starvation.

According to the World Health Organization, hunger is the single gravest threat to the world's public health. The WHO also states that malnutrition is by far the biggest contributor to child mortality, present in half of all cases. Six million children die of hunger every year. Figures on actual starvation are difficult to come by, but according to the FAO, the less severe condition of undernourishment currently affects about 925 million people, or about 14% of the world population.

The bloated stomach, as seen in the picture to the right, represents a form of malnutrition called kwashiorkor which is caused by protein deficiency combined with inadequate caloric consumption. Children are more vulnerable to kwashiorkor whose advanced symptoms include weight loss and muscle wasting. It is quite common to depict a thin child with a bloated stomach as starving, but in reality, such child is malnourished.

Read more about Starvation:  Common Causes, Signs and Symptoms, Biochemistry, Starvation Statistics, As Capital Punishment

Famous quotes containing the word starvation:

    And who is any of us, that without starvation he can go through the kingdoms of starvation?
    Haniel Long (1888–1956)

    If in this wide world, teeming with abundant supplies for human want, to thousands of wretched creatures no choice is open, save between starvation and sin, may we not justly say that there is something utterly wrong in the system that permits such things to be?
    Tennessee Claflin (1846–1923)