Resources in Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation

Abstract

There is no greater major threat to public health worldwide than nutrient deprivation. Presently nutrient deficiency affects around 800 million people worldwide. Since time immemorial nutrient deprivation or overt starvation has caused organ dysfunction or death. Nutrient deficiency is not only the consequence of drought, famines, or civil upheaval. Malnutrition may arise for a number of reasons. For example, some studies have reported that in hospitals as many as half of patients may be malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. The term malnutrition however is very broad and covers undernutrition, imbalance, and overnutrition. This book focuses on the former two umbrellas and coverage ranges from cellular events to public health policies. The detailed molecular events arising from nutrient deprivation are relatively recent discoveries in the overall time scale of research into malnutrition. At the other end of the spectrum, public health policies are constantly being updated to take into account prevailing social, geographical, political, and economic profiles of communities and countries. Within this are policies which encompass future trajectories which aim to prevent famines or undernutrition. Thus there is a complex continuum of knowledge that stretches from our understanding of how molecules in cells behave to the imposition of policies. To further aid colleagues in the acquisition of this knowledge, this chapter lists the resources on the regulatory and professional bodies, journals, books, and websites that are relevant to an evidence-based approach to famine, starvation, and nutrient deficiency, from cells to policy.