WE LIKE to think that enough food means enough nutrition. It does not. Food is what we eat; nutrition is what our bodies use to grow, stay healthy and thrive. A plate full of staples such as rice does not guarantee that a child will grow tall or that a woman will lead a healthy life. In Bangladesh and beyond, this disconnect fuels a silent crisis: the food鈥搉utrition gap, eroding health, hindering productivity and holding back development.
This is not a new problem. For years, governments have prioritised food sufficiency while overlooking the tougher goal of nutrient adequacy. A rice-heavy diet may fill bellies, but it also leaves millions suffering from 鈥榟idden hunger鈥�, micronutrient deficiencies that weaken immunity, limit learning and shorten lives. Over two billion people worldwide face this crisis. Bangladesh, now nearly self-sufficient in rice, is a glaring example: abundance without adequacy.
Progress cannot be measured by calories alone. When farm policies focus on rice, wheat and maize rather than pulses, vegetables, fruits and animal foods, diets become energy-rich but nutrient-poor. In Bangladesh, rice supplies around 70 per cent of daily calories, and this lack of diversity continues to drive stunting, wasting and hidden hunger. We are full, yet undernourished.
Economics deepens the challenge. Food choices are not merely cultural; they are shaped by poverty and inequality. Families under pressure from volatile prices often opt for cheap, filling staples over more nourishing foods. Women and children bear the brunt, their needs routinely sidelined. Without affordable access to a varied diet, malnutrition is handed down from one generation to the next.
Behaviour and culture also matter. Taboos during pregnancy and unequal food sharing within households deprive the most vulnerable of essential nutrients. Yet nutrition education remains on the margins of public health policy. If a country is serious about building its human capital, it must begin with basic awareness of what truly sustains the body.
The wider food environment adds another layer of risk. Urbanisation and globalisation have flooded markets with ultra-processed foods 鈥� cheap, convenient and promoted by slick advertising. These products fuel obesity and chronic disease even in places where hunger persists, creating a 鈥榙ouble burden鈥� of malnutrition. Without reshaping food systems around healthy, affordable and sustainable options, another generation will inherit poor diets and compromised health.
Climate change is making matters worse. Bangladesh stands on the front line, with rising seas, floods and soil salinity threatening farm diversity and food security. Even staple crops are losing nutritional value as CO鈧� levels rise. Good nutrition is not only a question of health; it is fast becoming a matter of survival.
Health and sanitation, too, are inseparable from nutrition. Malnutrition is not just about what people eat but about how their bodies absorb it. Repeated bouts of diarrhoea or chronic infections undermine the use of nutrients, locking communities into a vicious cycle where illness worsens malnutrition and malnutrition deepens illness. Clean water, sanitation and basic healthcare are as essential as food itself.
Addressing this crisis requires more than narrow production targets. Agriculture must support a wider range of crops 鈥� pulses, vegetables, fruits and animal foods 鈥� and invest in biofortified varieties. Social protection programmes, from school meals to targeted cash transfers, can help the poorest gain access to better diets. Regulation is needed to curb aggressive junk-food marketing and to strengthen supply chains for wholesome produce. Nutrition education should be mainstreamed to counter harmful taboos, while clean water, immunisation and preventive care become part of an integrated nutrition strategy. Well-designed fortification and supplementation schemes can bridge unavoidable gaps in micronutrients.
Closing the food鈥搉utrition gap is, above all, a political choice. It demands valuing long-term health over short-term output and creating food systems that nourish rather than merely fill. It calls on citizens, consumers and advocates to press for policies that bring diverse, healthy food within reach of every household.
The future depends on this commitment. Children cannot thrive on staples alone. Nutrition is the bedrock of health, productivity and resilience. If development is to be meaningful, we must stop confusing full stomachs with nourished bodies. Food is necessary, but without nutrition, it is not enough.
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Dr Md Mohsin Ali, a former government and UNICEF official, is a public health-nutrition specialist.
