CFS 2012/39/4

September 2012 E

COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD

SECURITY
Thirty-ninth Session

Rome, Italy, 15-20 October 2012

Item V.a

COMING TO TERMS WITH TERMINOLOGY

Food Security
Nutrition Security
Food Security and Nutrition
Food and Nutrition Security

Table of Contents
Paragraphs
I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 – 2
II. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE REQUEST......................................................................... 3 – 5
III. EVOLUTION OF UNDERLYING CONCEPTS ..................................................... 6 – 16
IV. CURRENT USAGE OF TERMINOLOGY ........................................................... 17 – 29
V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................... 30 – 33
ANNEX I: KEY TERMS.............................................................................................................
ANNEX II: CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF SEMINAL WORKS..............................................

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2 CFS 2012/39/4

For decision by the Committee

Based on an in-depth review and discussions of the meaning and different uses of the terms "Food
Security", "Food Security and Nutrition", "Food and Nutrition Security" and "Nutrition Security", the
Committee:
i) Recognises the long history and evolution of the meaning and use of the terms food security
and nutrition security,

ii) Acknowledges that the term “food and nutrition security” best reflects the conceptual linkages
between food security and nutrition security, while also expressing a single integrated
development goal to help guide policy and programmatic action effectively,

iii) Recognizes that currently there is no consensus among member states about the use of the
combined term “food and nutrition security” ; many strongly support the use of the combined
term whereas others question it for the following reasons: (a) the policy implications for
countries have not adequately been discussed, (b) the possible implications for the mandate
of the CFS have not yet been sufficiently explored, and, (c) linguistic reasons.

iv) Recommends that the Bureau, in consultation with the Advisory Group and the joint
secretariat determines the scope and timing of further work to be carried out to address the
issues under point ( iii) above, and that based on priorities and available resources the results
of this work should be presented to the CFS plenary.

I. INTRODUCTION
th
1. In 2011, the 37 Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) called on ‘the
Bureau, in consultation with the Advisory Group and the Secretariat, as well as with relevant
international organizations, in particular World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), to propose options on the meaning and different uses, if any, of the terms
"Food Security", "Food Security and Nutrition", "Food and Nutrition Security" and "Nutrition
Security" to the CFS Session for the standardization of the official terminology that the Committee
should use..." (CFS 37, 2011). This document responds to that request. It presents a brief review of the
historical evolution in the understanding of underlying concepts and then summarises current usage of
the various terms under review. Finally, it examines and proposes various options that the Committee
may consider for standardizing its official terminology.
2. Over the years numerous formulations and conceptual frameworks have been put forward to
define food security and nutrition and their inter-relationship. Some key terms used in this document
are included in Annex 1, in addition to an annotated list of the most seminal works related to the topic
under discussion in Annex 2. An effort has been made to use this body of literature to distil the
essential meaning of key terms and to suggest a way of thinking about them that will allow public
discourse to move forward in an integrated and constructive manner.

Key Messages:
i) We all work towards the eradication of food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition, consistent
with the right to adequate food and the right to be free from hunger. To ensure a successful
outcome of this multidisciplinary goal, professionals and policy makers across relevant
disciplines and sectors need to speak the same language.
CFS 2012/39/4 3

ii) The terms under discussion have evolved over several decades, based on different perspectives
by leading professional communities of practice, especially nutrition and public health experts
and professional groups working in the socio-economic, food and agriculture domains.
iii) There is wide recognition of the four dimensions of food security - availability, access,
utilization and stability - and the three main determinants of nutrition security - access to food,
care and feeding, and health and sanitation.
iv) The terms may take on a different meaning when applied at global or national levels versus
household or individual levels.
v) In those cases where translation is an issue caution is in order to ensure the agreed upon
language is adhered to; it is also noted that in certain languages countries may choose not to
use the combined term in their national contexts.
vi) While there is significant overlap in the content of the multidisciplinary definitions of food
security and nutrition security, some communities of practice will feel more comfortable with
one term or the other. Mutual agreement and acceptance of a common term, endorsed and
recommended by CFS, will greatly facilitate future communication, decisions and actions that
support the eradication of food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition.

II. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE REQUEST

3. The relationship between food and nutrition is straightforward from a technical perspective.
Nevertheless, reaching agreement on a technically and politically acceptable definition of food
security and its relationship to nutrition and nutrition security has not been so straightforward.
Currently, the terms food security, food security and nutrition, and food and nutrition security are all
being used. Sometimes they are used in ways specifically intended to make a distinction between food
security and nutrition or nutrition security. Sometimes they are used interchangeably and sometimes in
ways that highlight the interrelationship between food and nutrition. Often the way these terms are
used is linked to different communities of practice or professional groups that tend to emphasize
specific aspects of what are essentially multi-disciplinary concepts. The terms may also take on
different meanings, when they are applied at the global, national, household or individual level.
4. Furthermore, some of the terms can take on a different meaning when translated from English
into other languages. In particular, while the concepts of food security and nutrition (or nutrition
security) may be well understood as separate terms, when combined into ‘food security and nutrition’
or ‘food and nutrition security’, the concepts do not always translate well into a number of key
languages. In these cases, caution is in order to ensure the agreed upon language is adhered to that is
consistent with their usage in the national contexts.
5. This lack of consistency in the use of these terms across disciplines and languages has often
prevented meaningful discussion on how best to achieve food security and improved nutrition – both
of which are central to the overall objectives of CFS. As a result, policy makers may encounter
problems caused by the confusion around the use of the terminology. Therefore, as CFS is building its
reputation as “the foremost inclusive intergovernmental and international platform on issues related to
food security and nutrition” it is of paramount importance that CFS has a common and full
understanding and appreciation of key terms and their implications for the work of the Committee and
its Member States and constituents.
4 CFS 2012/39/4

III. EVOLUTION OF UNDERLYING CONCEPTS

6. The basic concepts underlying the terms “food security” and “nutrition security” as we know
them today were articulated in the early 1940s during World War II. In 1943, forty-four forward-
looking governments met in Hot Springs, Virginia, USA, to consider the goal of freedom from want in
relation to food and agriculture. They concluded that “freedom from want” meant a secure, adequate
and suitable supply of food for every man, woman and child, where “secure” referred to the
accessibility of the food, “adequate” referred to the quantitative sufficiency of the food supply and
“suitable” referred to the nutrient content of the food supply.
7. At the same time, as many parts of war-torn Europe were suffering from severe hunger and in
some cases, famine, the Hot Springs Conference accorded first priority to achieving “freedom from
hunger.” Participants believed that in the immediate post-war period the most urgent demand would be
for cereals and other foods that maintain minimum levels of dietary energy. Once production of staple
foods had been restored, it would be necessary to increase the production of foods containing protein
and other nutrients necessary to maintain good health. They also stressed that poverty was the first
cause of hunger and want, and considered that, in the longer term, global economic growth and
employment creation would be necessary to reduce poverty and achieve adequate nutrition for all.
8. Food and agricultural policies in the 1950s and 1960s continued to focus mainly on increasing
productivity, production and marketing of major staples, principally wheat and rice. The longer term
goal of achieving freedom from want by reducing poverty dropped out of sight. During this period
major wheat exporting countries held large surpluses which they disposed of through commodity food
aid programmes intended to rid the world of hunger.
9. In 1966, the United Nations adopted the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights which enshrined the right to adequate food and the right to be free from hunger and
underlined the obligation of States to take measures which are needed, “to improve methods of
production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific
knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition…” and “…to ensure an
equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need” (Article 11). This laid the foundations
for the broad concept of food security while also recognizing the importance of nutrition.
10. In the early 1970s a succession of poor harvests worldwide led to a drawdown on global grain
stocks, market shortages, rising food prices in many countries and a significant decline in per capita
availability of grains and other starchy staples. A World Food Conference was held in Rome in 1974
to address the crisis. It developed the following food supply-based definition of food security:
“Availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady
expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and prices.”
11. In response to the 1974 World Food Conference (WFC) recommendations, the UN/FAO
Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and the Administrative Committee on Coordination Sub-
committee on Nutrition (ACC SCN) were created. At that time, the focus of CFS was on increasing
global grain production and stabilizing world grain markets on the assumption that these actions would
be enough to ensure that all people everywhere had enough food to eat. On the other hand, it fell to the
ACC SCN to ensure that nutritional activities and programmes of the UN system focused on securing
access of all people everywhere to a well-balanced diet that would provide the essential nutrients
needed for a healthy and active life.
12. Emphasis on consumption, which relates to the demand side and issues of access by
vulnerable people to food, is closely identified with the seminal study of Amartya Sen (1981) who
expanded the concept of food security with a focus on the entitlements of individuals and households.
This study led to the recognition that sufficiency of food supply was not enough to guarantee food
security unless poor and vulnerable people also had the physical and economic access to that food. At
the height of the second world food crisis caused by a series of poor grain harvests in the early 1980s,
a revised and broadened concept of food security was proposed by FAO and endorsed by CFS in 1983.
It was linked to three specific goals: adequacy of food supplies, stability in food supplies and markets,
and security of access to supplies.
CFS 2012/39/4 5

13. In 1986, the World Bank released a report entitled Poverty and Hunger, focusing on the
temporal dynamics of food insecurity. The report attributed both chronic hunger and transitory food
insecurity to poverty and lack of income. Such vulnerable households could best be assisted by
simultaneously addressing the multitude of underlying factors that kept them trapped in poverty.
14. Multisectoral nutrition planning emerged in the early 1970s, as a bold new approach to
combating malnutrition. This approach emphasised nutritional deprivation as a concern of public
policy and in relation to economic planning at the national level and the planning for nutritional
improvement as a central component of overall development planning. This was in reaction to the
food-supply planning approach which is based on the assumption that if rates of growth in food
production can be made to increase faster than population growth rates, the nutrition problem will be
solved. The 1975 FAO report, Food and Nutrition Planning, fully elaborated nutrition-based
development planning approaches. It argued that malnutrition is not simply a problem of food
availability, but is rather a function of poverty and of deprivation. Thus, while food supplies may need
to be increased, the central thrust of food and nutrition planning must be the reduction of the causes of
deprivation that lead to malnutrition. Nutrition planning becomes central to overall development
planning because a prime objective of planning needs to be the sustained reduction of malnutrition.
15. Looking at both adequate food availability and access to food in the 1980s brought about a
new understanding of hunger and malnutrition, including undernutrition and micronutrient
malnutrition. In 1990, UNICEF introduced a Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Causes of
Malnutrition which made a clear distinction between food and non-food factors (care and health) that
were deemed essential for child nutrition. This was then further elaborated by the 1992 International
Conference on Nutrition (ICN) as the very first intergovernmental meeting on nutrition, which
developed and adopted the World Declaration and Plan of Action on Nutrition.
16. The nutrition and health community have long advocated for a better understanding of the key
determinants of good nutrition and their inclusion achieving development objectives. This has led to
new initiatives to mainstream nutrition considerations more effectively such as the Scaling-Up
Nutrition (SUN) Movement established in 2010 by a range of stakeholders concerned with the lack of
progress towards the reduction in hunger and undernutrition and the achievement of food and nutrition
security for all.

IV. CURRENT USAGE OF TERMINOLOGY

Food Security
17. The 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) adopted the following definition: “Food security exists
when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food
to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.“ This definition has
been identified with the four dimensions of food security: availability, access, stability and utilisation.
It embodies the food and care-related aspects of good nutrition.
18. Following the WFS recommendation to establish national food insecurity and vulnerability
information and mapping systems (FIVIMS), an Inter-Agency Working Group debated the
interpretation of the definition of food security with respect to its adequacy from a nutritional
perspective. This led to the development of Guidelines for National FIVIMS: Background and
Principles in which the four dimensions of food security were confirmed and endorsed by CFS in
1998.
19. The 1996 World Food Summit definition of food security is still widely used and quoted
today, with the sole addition of the word “social” to the phrase “physical, social and economic
access”. This definition was reaffirmed officially in the 2009 Declaration of the World Summit on
Food Security. The CFS Reform Document adopted by the FAO Conference at the same time added
the following explicit reference to the comprehensive coverage of nutrition in the interpretation of the
official definition of food security: “The four pillars of food security are availability, access, utilization
6 CFS 2012/39/4

and stability. The nutritional dimension is integral to the concept of food security and to the work of
CFS.” (CFS: 2009/2 Rev. 2).

Nutrition Security
20. As the term “food security” evolved, the term “nutrition security” emerged in the mid-1990s.
Nutrition security focuses on food consumption by the household or the individual and on how that
food is utilized by the body. Building on UNICEF’s Conceptual Framework, IFPRI proposed the
following definition in 1995: “Nutrition security can be defined as adequate nutritional status in terms
of protein, energy, vitamins, and minerals for all household members at all times.”
21. In light of continuing hunger, poverty and malnutrition, efforts have continued to raise
awareness of the meaning of “nutrition security”. It’s a condition that’s achieved at the level of the
individual. It combines having access to adequate food that fully satisfies nutritional needs with non-
food factors that enable a person to metabolize their food and use the nutrients to support growth and
maintenance of the body and to carryout basic life functions. In 2006, the World Bank published a
book on Repositioning Nutrition as Central to Development. It gives the following more elaborated
definition of nutrition security: “Nutrition security exists when food security is combined with a
sanitary environment, adequate health services, and proper care and feeding practices to ensure a
healthy life for all household members.” This same definition of nutrition security is also used by
WHO in its forthcoming report of the Global Nutrition Policy.
22. The Road Map for Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN), 2010 edition, elaborates on the definition as
follows: “Nutrition security is achieved when secure access to an appropriately nutritious diet is
coupled with a sanitary environment, adequate health services and care, to ensure a healthy and active
life for all household members.”
23. In an effort to focus attention on the point that nutrition security is only achieved when
individuals actually consume the food they need rather than simply having access to it (as in the
currently-accepted definition of food security), FAO has developed the following draft formulation:
“Nutrition security exists when all people at all times consume food of sufficient quantity and quality
in terms of variety, diversity, nutrient content and safety to meet their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life, coupled with a sanitary environment, adequate health,
education and care.” (FAO/AGN, March 2012)

Food Security and Nutrition

24. While the broad definition of food security embodies key determinants of good nutrition, the
term “food security and nutrition” has been used as a way to combine the two concepts described
above. This term is most commonly used in the socio-economic and the food and agricultural
communities of practice in recognition of the traditional emphasis on the food availability, access and
stability dimensions of food security. In addition, it acknowledges the importance of key nutrition
concerns such as care and feeding practices, public health and sanitation issues. This terminology is
also used when practitioners want to make it clear that food security is a precondition to adequate
nutrition and that different, but complementary actions are needed to achieve food security and
nutrition objectives. In other words, food security actions should ensure that food systems provide all
households with stable access to sufficient, appropriate and safe food, while nutrition-oriented action
should ensure that households and individuals have the knowledge and supportive health and
environmental conditions necessary to obtain adequate nutritional benefit from the food.
25. The CFS Reform Document uses the term “food security and nutrition” throughout. Since
2009, this term has been the standard for CFS documentation and is also used by FAO as one of its
corporate strategic objectives: “Improved food security and better nutrition”. The Committee’s High
Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) advises on “Food Security and Nutrition” and the Committee itself is
charged with responsibility for developing a “Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and
Nutrition”. Adoption of this term by CFS in 2009 was consistent with the usage of the “Global
CFS 2012/39/4 7

Partnership for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition” that was also emerging at that time, and in
many parts of the UN system this usage has become common practice. In line with this, the Secretary
General’s Special Representative carries the title “Special Representative for Food Security and
Nutrition”.

Food and Nutrition Security

26. “Food and nutrition security” is another way to combine elements of both food security and
nutrition security. It is a term that has been used more frequently during the past number of years and
has been advocated for in particular by the public health and nutrition communities to emphasise the
need for greater integration of nutrition into food security policies and programmes. This term is
preferred by those who wish to highlight the integral linkages between food security and nutrition
security, not only linguistically but also conceptually, in particular at the household and individual
level. The embedding of “nutrition” between “food” and “security” emphasizes that raising levels of
nutrition is the ultimate goal.
27. IFPRI has used the term “Food and Nutrition Security” since the mid-1990s, and UNICEF and
FAO have both developed formulations for this term: “Food and nutrition security is achieved when
adequate food (quantity, quality, safety, socio-cultural acceptability) is available and accessible for
and satisfactorily used and utilized by all individuals at all times to live a healthy and active life.”
(UNICEF, 2008) and “Food and nutrition security exists when all people at all times have physical,
social and economic access to food of sufficient quantity and quality in terms of variety, diversity,
nutrient content and safety to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life, coupled with a sanitary environment, adequate health, education and care.” [FAO/AGN,
November 2011]
28. The Updated Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA) released by the UN System High
Level Task Force on Global Food Security (HLTF) in September 2010 also uses the term “food and
nutrition security”. The CFA opens with the following text, which associates the 1996 World Food
Summit definition with the term “food and nutrition security”: “.... Food and nutrition security: food
security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient,
safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life. Food insecurity exists when people do not have adequate physical, social or economic access to
food as defined above. Food security therefore covers availability, access, utilization and stability
issues, and – because of its focus on the attributes of individuals – also embraces their energy, protein
and nutrient needs for life, activity, pregnancy, growth and long-term capabilities.”
29. The 6th Report on the World Nutrition Situation (2010) by SCN with the endorsement of
FAO, WFP, WHO and UNICEF, contains a chapter on “Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security”
which deliberately uses the term “food and nutrition security” throughout because of the importance
attached to achieving nutrition security. WFP uses the term “food and nutrition security” throughout
its Nutrition Policy (2012) and Strategic Plan (2008-2013) while the International Conference on
Nutrition plus 21 (ICN+21) being organized by FAO and WHO in 2013 will also use this term.

V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

30. The previous sections have discussed the evolution of the meaning and use of the terms “food
security” and “nutrition security” as well as two ways in which the two terms have been combined as
in “food security and nutrition” and “food and nutrition security”. “Food security and nutrition” has
been used more commonly when the intent was to distinguish between actions needed at the global,
national and local levels from actions needed at household and individual levels. “Food and nutrition
security” has been used in particular at the household and individual level and when the intent has
8 CFS 2012/39/4

been to focus attention on actions needed to mainstream nutrition considerations at all points
throughout the food chain.
31. The current term used by CFS - “food security and nutrition” - places emphasis on the
importance of two complementary but overlapping, concepts, namely “food security and nutrition”.
Food security has its origins in “freedom from hunger” and has over time evolved into a broad concept
encompassing food availability, access, stability and food utilisation. Similarly, the nutrition concept
has evolved and places emphasis on access to adequate food, care and feeding practices and health and
sanitation issues. The term “food security and nutrition” has been typically used to represent actions
required such as securing adequate and safe food supplies and stable food prices. Ensuring that
individuals consume the right quantities of an appropriate variety and quality of food at the household
level and that they are healthy enough to absorb the nutrients from the food are part of the concept.
Many multi-disciplinary actions and investment plans have been formulated under this term and policy
makers at all levels are generally aware of the importance of investing in both reducing food insecurity
and malnutrition. If there is a weakness in the meaning and use of this combined term, it relates to the
fact that the overlapping content of the term, both conceptually and operationally, causes confusion.
32. On the other hand, the term “food and nutrition security” represents a more integrated way to
combine the two concepts. It emphasizes that the overall objective is to achieve both “food security”
and “nutrition security” as a single, unitary goal of policy and programmatic actions. It is also argued
that this formulation encourages different communities of practice to better integrate their work
towards achieving food security and nutrition security objectives. It is in this context that the
formulation has come into increasingly widespread use. With the term “food and nutrition security”,
food production, food systems, and socio-economic aspects at the origins of the food security concept
are complemented by the biological approach in which the human being is the starting point, as
emphasized by the nutrition security concept.
33. Keeping in mind that we are all working towards the eradication of food insecurity, hunger
and malnutrition, and based on the in-depth review of the meaning and different uses of the terms
under consideration in this document, it is recommended that the Committee:
i) Recognises the long history and evolution of the meaning and use of the terms food
security and nutrition security,
ii) Acknowledges that the term “food and nutrition security” best reflects the conceptual
linkages between food security and nutrition security, while also expressing a single
integrated development goal to help guide policy and programmatic action effectively,
iii) Acknowledges that in certain languages countries may choose not to use the combined
term in their national contexts,
iv) Recommends the Committee should use, as appropriate, the following definition of “food
and nutrition security”:
v) “Food and nutrition security exists when all people at all times have physical, social and
economic access to food, which is safe and consumed in sufficient quantity and quality to
meet their dietary needs and food preferences, and is supported by an environment of
adequate sanitation, health services and care, allowing for a healthy and active life.”
CFS 2012/39/4 9

ANNEX I: KEY TERMS

Food
For people, food is what they eat. For policy makers, food is any substance intended for human
consumption1.
Nutrients
Nutrients are the substances and chemical elements and compounds that food contains. They make us
grow, maintain our bodies in good repair, give us energy and keep us healthy. Those that are required
in large quantities are classified as macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and protein) and those required
in only very small amounts but being essential as micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and trace
elements). All foods contain at least one of the macronutrients, and most, though not all foods contain
at least a few micronutrients. Essential micronutrients need to be consumed as the body cannot
produce them on its own. For all nutrients, recommendations for daily intake and safe levels of intake
exist.
Dietary Energy
Dietary energy is supplied by all the macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and protein) and is measured
in terms of calories, kilocalories or joules. It is essential to life because the body requires energy to
perform basic involuntary functions, as well as to carry out willed activity, be it work that is necessary
for survival or activity that is undertaken for pleasure. When the quantity of dietary energy consumed
is insufficient, people lose weight and when it is excessive, they gain weight.
Balanced Diet
A balanced diet is a diet that provides energy and all essential nutrients for growth and a healthy and
active life. Since few foods contain all the nutrients required to permit the normal growth,
maintenance and functioning of the human body, a variety of food is needed to cover a person’s macro
and micronutrient needs. Any combination of foods that provides the correct amount of dietary energy
and all essential nutrients in optimal amounts and proportions is a balanced diet.
Hunger
Nutritionists have estimated the amount of dietary energy that people of different ages and sex with
different activity levels in different cultures require to maintain a healthy and active life. When people
do not have access to the amount of dietary energy needed for their normal level of activity, they feel
hungry. If the situation persists over a longer time, it leads to undernutrition. Chronic energy
deficiency can lead to a reduction in physical activity, weight loss or both. In severe forms, chronic
energy deficiency can lead to wasting and eventually death. Hunger is not synonymous with
malnutrition or undernutrition, but there are overlaps between these two.
Famine
Famine is defined as extreme scarcity of food, resulting in acute hunger that affects a specific
population group in a defined geographic area. It usually results in starvation and death of part of the
affected population.
Nutrition

1
The Codex Alimentarius defines food as “any substance, whether processed, semi-processed, or raw, which is intended for
human consumption, and includes drink, chewing gum and any substance which has been used in the manufacture,
preparation or treatment of "food" but does not include cosmetics or tobacco or substances used only as drugs.” (Codex
Alimentarius Commission, Procedural Manual, 11th edition).
10 CFS 2012/39/4

Nutrition is the consequence of the intake of food and the utilization of nutrients by the body. Good
nutrition produces a healthy physical and physiological condition. It is secured when food intake,
absorption and utilization provide all essential nutrients in required amounts. Poor nutrition produces
an unhealthy physiological condition and is caused by lack of physical, economic, social or
physiological access to the right amounts of dietary energy and nutrients. Consequences of poor
nutrition can be impaired physical and mental development, reduced immunity, increased
susceptibility to disease, decreased ability to do work and reduced productivity. Since parasites, poor
hygiene and diseases can compromise a person's ability to absorb and biologically utilize the nutrients
consumed, a safe food supply, clean drinking water, a sanitary environment, adequate health,
education and care are essential for good nutrition, along with a balanced diet. Optimal nutrition
supports development to obtain each individual’s full genetic potential.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is defined as nutritional disorder in all its forms and includes both undernutrition and
overnutrition. It relates to imbalances in energy, and specific macro and micronutrients- as well as in
dietary patterns. Conventionally, the emphasis has been in relation to inadequacy, but it also applies to
both excess and imbalanced intakes. Malnutrition occurs when the intake of essential macro- and
micronutrients does not meet or exceeds the metabolic demands for those nutrients. These metabolic
demands vary with age, gender and other physiological conditions and are also affected by
environmental conditions including poor hygiene and sanitation that lead to food- as well as water-
borne diarrhoea (WHO Global Nutrition Policy Review). When micronutrient malnutrition occurs in
persons who are of a normal weight or who are overweight or obese, it is sometimes referred to as
hidden hunger. Hidden hunger often has no visible warning signs, leaving sufferers unaware of their
dietary deficiency and its potentially adverse impact on their health. Pregnant and lactating women
have additional specific needs. The additional food needed during pregnancy and lactation is critical to
ensuring adequate nutrient intake sufficient in both quantity and quality for fetal growth and
production of breast milk. Maternal undernutrition at this stage can lead to intrauterine growth
retardation and low concentrations of certain nutrients in breast milk. Malnutrition is especially serious
for infants during the first 1000 days of life (from conception through the age of two), and for young
children and has largely irreversible long-term effects on the ability of children to grow and learn, and
to develop into productive adults later in life. This can restrict the development potential of whole
societies and nations, and create a costly and continuing health and humanitarian burden for the
country.
Nutritional status
The nutritional status of a person can be measured by different methods, such as anthropometry,
biochemical, clinical assessment and dietary intake methods. Anthropometry is the method commonly
used. It can be defined as the measurement of physical dimensions and gross composition of the
human body. The nutritional status of a person alone does not indicate the causes of this status.
CFS 2012/39/4 11

ANNEX II: CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF SEMINAL WORKS

1943
Declaration of the Hot Springs Conference. Cited in FAO (1981). FAO: its origins, formation and
evolution 1945–1981. Rome. Available online at: http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/?id=16367
1945
Constitution of FAO: Preamble. Cited in FAO (1981). FAO: its origins, formation and evolution
1945–1981. Rome. Available online at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/p4228e/p4228e00.htm
1946
FAO (1946). First World Food Survey. Rome.
1948
UN (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
1966
UN (1966). International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Adopted and opened
for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16
December 1966. New York
1975
UN (1975). Report of the World Food Conference held in Rome in November 1974. New York.
Joy, L. and Payne, P.R. (1975). Food and Nutrition Planning, Nutrition Consultants’ Reports
Series No. 35, ESN: CRS/75/351. FAO. Rome.
1976
UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (1976). Institutional arrangement relating to
nutrition, Statement of the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination, New York. Available
online at:
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UN ECOSOC (1976). Food Problems, Institutional Arrangements Relating to Nutrition: State of
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