Chronic Hunger Definition |verified| Guide

Chronic hunger is the long-term, persistent inability to meet minimum dietary energy requirements, leading to undernourishment, stunted growth, and increased disease susceptibility, typically measured as the prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) over a 12-month period. (Source: FAO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World , 2023)

| Feature | Chronic Hunger | Acute Hunger | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Long-term (years, decades) | Short-term (weeks, months) | | Cause | Persistent poverty, lack of access to food, structural inequality | Sudden shocks (war, drought, flood, economic crash) | | Biological effect | Stunting (low height-for-age), wasting (low weight-for-height in chronic form), micronutrient deficiencies | Severe wasting, nutritional edema, high mortality risk | | Measurement | Prevalence of undernourishment (PoU), Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) | Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phases 3-5 (Crisis, Emergency, Famine) | | Reversibility | Requires long-term development interventions (agriculture, social protection) | Requires immediate humanitarian aid (food, water, medical care) | chronic hunger definition