A condition where a person's body doesn't get enough proper nutrients and vitamins from food, causing weakness and health problems.
From 'mal-' (bad or poorly, from Latin) + 'nutrition' (from Latin 'nutrire,' to nourish). Compound formed in the 1800s as medical science developed better terms for nutritional deficiencies. Contrasts with 'nutrition' or 'overnutrition.'
Malnutrition can happen two ways—from eating too little OR from eating the wrong things—which is why you see malnourished people in both poverty-stricken areas and wealthy countries where people eat only junk food! It's a reminder that calories don't equal nutrition.
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