Food security and population health and well being.

Food security is an important element in the multi-factorial systems analysis of health and well being. The interaction between food supply and other important factors making up the system can shed light on individual and population health. A critical analysis of the health system must also include consideration of disparity in food security since it represents one of the most dramatic indicators of economic and health inequality. A large fraction of the world's population--particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and in South East Asia--is chronically hungry. Distributing food commodities alone does not appear to significantly reduce global food insecurity. In addition, promoting agricultural development, economic growth, and education assistance is needed in order to mitigate the underlying causes of chronic hunger, and in turn improve health and well being.