Third World children starve, suffer stunted growth, First World children suffer obesity

Jun 7, 2011 by Leading Light    No Comments    Posted under: health

Third World children starve, suffer stunted growth, First World children suffer obesity

(llco.org)

According to a new UNICEF report, 200 million children under 5 in poor countries have stunted growth due to insufficient nutrition. Of the 200 million, almost 90 percent live in Asia and Africa. Almost a third of deaths in that age group are linked to undernutrition.

In Asia as a whole, the stunted growth rate is 30 percent. The situation in South Asia is especially bleak with Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan accounting for 83 million hungry children under five. In Africa, the rate is 43 percent.

The vast majority of those who suffer insufficient nutrition reside in the Third World. By contrast, children in the First World suffer problems of consuming too much food. For example, according to the Surgeon General, 12.5 million children, 17 percent , in the US suffer from obesity. These children also suffer health issues, but they are health issues related to overconsumption. In addition, First World children also have become less physically active. Physical activity has declined in the US. According to one study, 20 percent of youth from 9 to 13 years old engaged in no physical activity outside of school. Similar results have been reported in other First World countries.

Children who suffer stunted growth suffer related ailments their whole lives. Under capitalism-imperialism, 200 million children in the Third World have their futures stolen from them.  A billion go hungry every day, mostly in Third World. By contrast, children in the First World  grow overweight and inactive.

Capitalism produces for the market, not for human needs. Capitalism divides countries into the First and Third Worlds, with little in between. A few countries grow wealthy at the expense of the majority. Socialism will turn the tables. According to studies, enough food is produced so that hunger  and undernutrition could easily be wiped out with proper food distribution. Under socialism, access to adequate nutrition will be a basic human right.

Sources:

1. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091111/ap_on_he_me/eu_med_nutrition_report;_ylt=AjUkpaoBeiVgjl3j5np6jT3VJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJvaTlpZGRkBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMTExL2V1X21lZF9udXRyaXRpb25fcmVwb3J0BGNwb3MDMwRwb3MDOARzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawN1bnNheXNodW5nZXI-

2. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/obesityprevention/index.html

3. http://www.fitness.gov/enewsletter/fall2008/featurearticle.html

4. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/419

5. http://monkeysmashesheaven.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/amerikans-first-worlders-waste-food-third-worlders-starve/

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