Malnourished means not getting enough of the right nutrients your body needs to stay healthy and grow properly. A malnourished person might not be eating enough food at all, or they might be eating food that lacks essential vitamins, minerals, and proteins their body requires.

Your body is like a complex machine that needs specific fuel to run well. Just as a car needs the right kind of gas and oil, your body needs proteins to build muscles, calcium for strong bones, vitamins to fight off illness, and many other nutrients. When someone is malnourished, their body struggles to function properly. They might feel weak and tired, have trouble concentrating in school, get sick more easily, or in serious cases, stop growing at a normal rate.

Malnourishment can happen even when someone eats plenty of calories. If a person ate nothing but candy and soda, they'd be consuming lots of calories but missing the proteins, vitamins, and minerals their body needs. This is why eating a balanced diet with vegetables, fruits, proteins, and whole grains matters so much.

Around the world, hundreds of millions of people are malnourished because they lack access to enough nutritious food. Organizations work to fight this problem by providing food aid and teaching communities how to grow nutrient-rich crops.