Formulating a comprehensive strategy to counter the menace of malnutrition in developing countries

The indispensable role of optimal nutrition in ensuring absolute health status and holistic development of a society is well acknowledged. Malnutrition is considered as a disease of human society that can begin in the womb and eventually lasts till the death. A wide range of socio-cultural and infectious parameters have been determined that can ultimately precipitate malnutrition. Considering the multi-factorial origin of the disease, the strategy to combat malnutrition should also be comprehensive and multi-pronged comprising measures to combat the condition at every level concurrently in the entire nation. The corrective policy essentially requires the coordinated approach of different stakeholders and should be targeted at four different levels - family, community, national, and international. To conclude, diet is a crucial element in the natural history of many public health-related diseases, and owing to the multiple factors that eventually determine the dietary habits, a comprehensive approach is the need of the hour