Population below minimum level of dietary energy requirement (undernourishment) 

What does this indicator tell us?

This indicator is the percentage of the population whose food intake falls below the minimum level of dietary energy requirements and who, therefore, are undernourished or food-deprived.

How is it defined?

The prevalence of undernourishment is essentially estimated by measuring food deprivation based on calculations of three parameters for each country: the average amount of food available for human consumption per person, the level of inequality in gaining access to that food and the minimum number of calories required for an average person.

The average amount of food available for human consumption is derived from national "food balance sheets" compiled by FAO each year, which show how much of each food commodity a country produces, imports and withdraws from their stocks for other, non-food purposes. The energy equivalent of all the food available for human consumption is divided by the total population to derive a country's average daily energy consumption.

Data from household surveys are used to derive a coefficient of variation, to account for the degree of inequality in access to food. Similarly, because a large adult needs almost twice as much dietary energy as a 3-year-old child, the minimum energy requirement per person in each country is based on averages of age, gender and body sizes in that country.

The minimum dietary energy requirement is derived from the results of a FAO/WHO/UN University expert consultation in 2001 (published in 2004), which established energy standards for different gender and age groups with sedentary physical activity levels and with a minimum acceptable body weight for attained height.

The average energy requirement is the amount of food energy needed to balance energy expenditure in order to maintain body weight, body composition, and levels of necessary and desirable physical activity that are consistent with long-term good health. It includes the energy needed for the optimal growth and development of children, along with the deposition of tissues during pregnancy and secretion of milk during lactation that are consistent with the good health of the mother and child. The recommended level of dietary energy intake for a population group is the mean energy requirement of the healthy, well-nourished individuals who constitute that group.

FAO reports the proportion of the population whose daily food intake falls below that minimum energy requirement as "undernourished". Trends in undernourishment are due mainly to:

• changes in food consumption as reported on country food balance sheets;
• changes in the distribution of dietary energy consumption in a population, due to changes in the distribution of both dietary energy consumption by income level and dietary energy requirements based on weight for attained height by gender and age; and
• changes in the minimum dietary energy consumption, due to changes in attained height and the structure of the population by gender and age.

What are the consequences and implications?

The indicator is a measure of an important aspect of food insecurity in a population. Sustainable development requires a concerted effort to reduce poverty, including providing solutions to hunger and malnutrition. Alleviating hunger is a prerequisite for reducing poverty sustainably, because undernourishment seriously affects labour productivity and earning capacity. Malnutrition can arise from a range of circumstances. For poverty reduction strategies to be effective, they must address food access, availability and safety.

Source of data

FAO. FAOSTAT. Suite of food security indicators (http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FS).

Further reading

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNICEF, World Food Programme, World Health Organization. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2018 (http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/en/ ). 

FAO/WHO/UNU. Human energy requirements. Report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation. Rome, 17-24 October 2001. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2004 (http://www.fao.org/3/a-y5686e.pdf).

FAO. The state of food insecurity in the world 2012 - technical note: FAO methodology to estimate the prevalence of undernourishment. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2012 (http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/es/SOFI_2012/sofi_technical_note.pdf).