In present times forty four nations have "severe" or "alarming" levels of hunger. The fight against hunger has mostly stagnated internationally in recent years. The cumulated effect of war, climate change, economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine, have driven up the price of food, gasoline and fertilizer around the world. According to the Global Hunger Index 2022, India is ranked at 107 out of 121 nations and is classified as "severe" with a score of 29.1. At 19.3%, India has the highest child wasting rate in the world, which is worse than the levels seen in 2014 (15.1%) and because of India's large population, this rate raises the average for the region. Insufficient dietary intake and absorption of vitamins and minerals (such as zinc, iodine, folate, vitamin A, vitamin B12, and vitamin D, among others) hinders the growth and development of an individual. Thus, increasing the problem of hidden hunger, a type of undernutrition. Micronutrient deficiencies are caused by a poor diet, increased micronutrient requirements during particular life phases, such as pregnancy and lactation and health issues like illnesses and infections or parasites. According to the Food and Agriculture Report, 2018, India is home to 195.9 million of the 821 million malnourished people worldwide and has a 14.8% prevalence of undernutrition, which is greater than the average for Asia and the rest of the world. According to the National Health Survey, about 19 crore individuals in the country were estimated to be forced to sleep on an empty stomach every night in 2017.

1. Adding Fruits in Our Diet:
The Only Solution To Hidden Hunger
Presented by: Reetika Sharma
PhD Fruit Science
SKUAST-Jammu

2. The year 2022 marked the mid-point of the UN’s Decade for
Action on Nutrition (2016–2025), however, the total number of
people living with severe food insecurity has continued to rise
since 2015.
Achieving zero hunger by 2030 is one of the seventeen
sustainable development goals and now is a time when there is
an intensified spotlight on global nutrition research, with the
UN Food Systems Summit and Nutrition for Growth Summit.

3. Over the past decade, a series of landmark publications in
the Lancet(3–9) have provided a sharp focus on the
previously unprecedented level of detail on the scale of the
challenges the international nutrition research community
faces to reduce malnutrition in all its forms, frequently
referred to as the ‘triple burden of malnutrition’ that
encompasses overnutrition, undernutrition and
micronutrient deficiencies.

4. Hidden Hunger
The presence of multiple micronutrient
deficiencies in the absence of an energy-
deficit diet is often described as ‘hidden
hunger’ – Lowe, 2022

5. India has slipped
to 107th position
in the Global
Hunger Index
(GHI) 2022 of
116 countries,
from its 2021
position of 101st

6. According to the 2022 edition of The
State of Food Security and Nutrition
in the World (SOFI), the number of
people affected by hunger and food
insecurity increased by 150 million
and 350 million respectively since the
outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic

7. Iron, zinc, iodine and vitamin A are the most frequently
limiting micronutrients in the diet, which often occur as a
result of consuming an energy-dense, but nutrient-poor diet.
It is estimated that hidden hunger affects over two billion people
worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where
there is a reliance on low-cost staples and where the diet
is monotonous, and choices are limited by poverty.

8. MICRONUTRIENTS DEFECIENCY PREVALANCE MAJOR DEFECIENCY
DISORDERS
IODINE MORE THAN 2 BILLION AT
RISK
GOITRE,
HYPOTHYROIDISM,
INFANT MORTALITY,
COGNITIVE
IMPAIRMENT
IRON MORE THAN 2 BILLION AT
RISK
ANEMIA, LOW BIRTH
WEIGHT, MATERNAL
AND INFANT MORTALITY
ZINC ESTIMATED HIGH IN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
POOR PREGNANCY
OUTCOME, IMPAIRED
GROWTH, GENETIC
DISORDER
VITAMIN A MORE THAN 250 MILLION PRE
SCHOOL CHILDREN
NIGHT BLINDNESS,
XEROPHTHALMIA, RISK
OF MORTALITY RATE IN
CHILDREN AND
PREGNANT WOMEN
Major micronutrients deficiencies prevalence and their
disorders

9. New and alarming global estimates for
micronutrient deficiencies reveals the depth
and breadth of hidden hunger globally with 1
in 2 pre-school aged children and 2 of 3
women of reproductive age worldwide having
at least one micronutrient deficiency. The
findings reported in Lancet Global
Health provide the most rigorous assessment
to date.

10. Are we on track to achieve
SDG 2: Zero Hunger ?
UN SDG 2 is to ‘end hunger, achieve food
security and improved nutrition and promote
sustainable agriculture’. Within this goal, a
number of internationally agreed targets have
been identified, to be achieved by 2030.

11. But data says opposite to achieving zero hunger
Despite progress being
made against
undernutrition, the UN is
clear that the world is not
on track to achieve zero
hunger by 2030

12. Strategies to improve nutrient density of diet
Dietary diversity
A measure of the range of foods
belonging to different food groups,
consumed by an individual over a
defined time period. The greater the
diversity of a diet, the lower the risk
that the diet is insufficient in terms
of micronutrient supply, thus
understanding dietary patterns is
an important tool in designing the
strategic approach to combat
hidden hunger.

13. For people's health and nutrition, fruit’s
and vegetable’s act as a "protective food,"
which are crucial for a balanced diet.
Along with providing energy, it also contains
nutrients that are protective, like vitamins
and minerals. In addition to their usual
usage, many fruits have medical benefits for
treating conditions like scurvy, night
blindness, stomach and biliary disorders,
diabetes, skin conditions, ophthalmia,
haemorrhages and ulcers.

14. The health benefits and applications of various portions
of numerous common fruit trees, including the aonla,
banana, bael, ber, custard apple, lime, mango and
pomegranate are taken into account in dietary
recommendations due to high concentrations of dietary
fibre, vitamins, minerals, particularly electrolytes and
more recently, phytochemicals (antioxidants) present in
them.

15. Types of
Vitamins
Deficiency Diseases Fruits- as sources of
vitamins
A (Retinol) Night blindness Mango, Papaya, Jack,
Banana, Dates
B2 (Riboflavin) Retarded growth, bad
skin
Bael, Papaya, Litchi
B9 (Folate) Macrocytic Anaemia Sweet orange,
Mandarin
C (Ascorbic acid) Scurvy Aonla, Citrus fruits,
Pineapple, Ber, Guava,
Strawberry.
E (Tocopherol) Muscle weakness ,
Vision Problems
Avocado, Mango

16. Types of Minerals Deficiency Diseases Fruits as Sources of
Minerals
Calcium Brittle bones,
excessive bleeding
Fig, Oranges, Kiwi.
Phosphorus Bad teeth and bones Passion Fruit,
Avocado. Strawberry,
Apricot
Iron Anaemia Karonda, Watermelon,
Fig, Apricot, Peach.
Iodine Goitre, enlarged
thyroid gland
Strawberry,
Craneberry,
Pineapple.
Copper Low appetite, retarded
growth
Durian, Guava,
Pomegranate.

17. Biofortification of fruit crops
It aims to increase dietary intake of vitamins,
minerals, or antioxidants that are essential for
maintaining overall human health and
preventing disease.

18. FRUIT CROPS BIOFORTIFIED
VARIETIES
BANANA Cavendish and Ladyfinger Increased PVA levels the
constitutive (Ubi) or fruit-
specific (Aco) expression of
MtPsy2a alone.
POMEGRANATE Solapur lal (Biofortified hybrid
variety)
High iron (5.6-6.1 mg/100
g), zinc (0.64-0.69 mg/100 g)
and vitamin C (19.4-19.8
mg/100 g) in fresh arils. It
has been released and
notified in 2017 for semiarid
regions of the country.
STRAWBERRY Strawberry grown in
hydroponics and makes
biofortified through increase the
content of iodine and selenium
The iodine contents of the
strawberry fruits are more
than adequate for a
biofortification program,
since 150 µg iodine day−1 is
the WHO recommended
dietary allowance for adults.

19. PINEAPPLE Pineapple cv. Queen leaf bases
were transformed with
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
strain EHA 105 harboring the
pSF and pEFESF plasmids
with soybean ferritin cDNA.
Enhanced iron and zinc
accumulation in the fruits
KUMQUAT CITRUS The effect of CsPSY gene
(from Cara Cara navel orange)
over expression on carotenoid
accumulation was functionally
analyzed in transgenic
Hongkong kumquat
(Fortunella hindsii Swingle)
Lycopene, b-carotene and b-
cryptoxanthinin transgenic
fruits were also markedly
increased.
KIWIFRUIT Genetic transformation using a
micro-cross section (MCS)
technique was conducted to
improve the carotenoid content
in kiwifruit (Actinidia
deliciosa cv. Hayward).
The transgenic plants
expressing either GGPS or
PSY increased about 1.2-to
1.3-fold in lutein or β-carotene
content compared to non-
transgenic plants.

20. The long-term causes of nutritional
insecurity and hidden hunger must be
the new area of focus. As part of a
larger multi-sectoral approach
customised to various conditions of
significant agro-ecological,
socioeconomic and epidemiological
issues, an emphasis must be placed on
initiatives that address food and
nutritional security.

21. A man is
just as dead
if he dies of
malnutrition
as of
bullets.
David Dellinger