Even the rich can suffer from poor nutrition

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: A nutrition expert has sought to dispel the common belief that only the poor suffer from malnutrition.

Yasmin Ooi of University Malaysia Sabah told FMT socioeconomic status was not the only factor contributing to nutrition poverty among Malaysian children.

“Families in low-income groups often spend a large proportion of their income on food that eliminates hunger, such as carbohydrate-rich food,” she said.

“As for children outside of poverty, the lack of supervision over food choices results in low intakes of vitamins and minerals for optimum growth.”

Ooi said the government might want to consider legislating the provision of school meals to children from low-income families to ensure sufficiency in the consumption of nutrients.

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