Nierenberg said prevention measures can be put in place all along the food chain.

On the micro level

Part of the problem of malnutrition is a deficiency in micronutrients. A severe lack of Vitamin A, iron and iodine can have lifelong effects. For example, a vitamin A deficiency in children can lead to blindness. An iron deficiency in pregnant women can cause a number of complications.

“One of the biggest problems in the world right now is that we produce a lot of calories. We produce a lot of starchy staple crops, whether it’s rice or wheat or maize. And while that keeps people full and fed, and most of the world really depends on those starch staple crops to survive, we’re not investing as much in the production of fruits and vegetables. Those are the things that contain those essential micronutrients,” she said.

Nierenberg said a lack of access to nutritious food does not necessarily mean affected people are thin. It can be just the opposite. They can be overweight or even obese.

“People don’t have access to healthy, nutritious food. In the United States, we have the highest obesity rates in the world. And this is partly due because many of our citizens don’t have access to grocery stores or farmers’ markets. They live in what are called food deserts. Places where people have to travel very far to grocery stores. In most of these areas the food comes not from supermarkets, but it comes from liquor stores and convenience stores, where unhealthy foods and processed foods are sold,” she said.