Malnutrition: Uganda Is Paying Too High a Price

Nutrition is the series of processes of taking in food, breaking down the food into minute components (called nutrients or micronutrients) in the stomach, absorbing these components into the body, and having the body store or use them. The components of food are categorized according to their use in the body: carbohydrates and fats provide energy, protein builds the body, and vitamins and minerals build immunity against disease. The body needs all three of these components in the right amounts and proportions to be healthy and grow well. Good nutrition results from eating a diversity and balance of foods to get the necessary nutrients to function and from preventing nutrient losses, which can result from illnesses, such as diarrhoea.