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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : July 28, 2014 6:37 PM IST
In a bid to provide better nutrition and education for economically deprived children across the country, an NGO organised 'Cook for a Smile' programme here to help raise needed funds. 'Cook for a Smile', an initiative by the Smile Foundation, is a charity contest wherein corporate leaders come together to contest and raise funds for children.
'One in every three malnourished children in the world is from India. The consequences are long-term and it prevents children's overall growth, learning ability, going to school and a chance to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty for yet another generation,' the NGO's chief operating officer Vikram Singh Verma said at the event. According to UNICEF, 50 percent of total child deaths in India are attributed to malnutrition. (Read: Malnutrition affects children's 'good' gut bacteria: Study)
'We are extremely happy that through this initiative, we are able to contribute towards making education and nutrition a reality for thousands of children. Children are our tomorrow and we would like to do our contribution in securing their future,' said Amit Modi, director of an MNC, who participated in the fund raising event. (Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2014: Do any of the parties care about malnutrition in children?)
What is malnutrition?
Malnutrition refers to the condition resulting from an unbalanced diet where certain nutrients are either lacking or taken in excess. Under-nutrition and over-nutrition are both related to various diseases. Under-nutrition, particularly in the developmental years in children, is linked to stunted growth. One out of four children in the world is stunted due to malnutrition and over 923 million people are undernourished. On the other hand, over-nutrition is linked to overconsumption of nutrients and leads to obesity-related lifestyle diseases like heart diseases, diabetes, strokes and hypertension. According to some research findings, over-nutrition leads to thirty five million deaths every year.
With inputs from IANS
Photo source: Getty images
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