Exam 5: Biology in the Present: Living People

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People who consume fewer than 2,000 calories per day are considered undernourished, and this problem is especially common in developing nations of Africa, South and Central America, and across large regions of Asia.Nutritional deficiencies promote growth disruption, disease, and reduced fertility.Suppressed immune function and suppressed growth result in stunted and short individuals, a greater likelihood of dying from infectious disease, and shorter life expectancy overall.Much of the human population is deficient in energy or nutrients or both.Worldwide, governments have tried to increase agricultural production to relieve famine and starvation and to enhance the nutritional attributes of key grains.Yet a growing focus on grains has contributed to the decline in diversity of foods consumed by human populations in nutritionally stressed situations.More attention might be given to increasing the availability of additional micronutrients in the diet.Meanwhile, in developed and developing countries around the world, obesity is increasing along with associated health problems that include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.In the United States, body weight has increased by an average of 24 pounds over the past four decades and 50% of adults are overweight.Twenty percent of American children are overweight, and numbers in other countries are increasing.Obesity results from increased access to inexpensive high-fat foods coupled with a tendency to expend less energy as access to transportation increases.