Micronutrient and/or protein deficiency is shown in a very large group of malnourished people. They either do not receive adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals (micronutrients), or the correct proportion of protein in their diets. This can also have very debilitating effects on people and societies. The health symptoms may not be immediately visible to either the individuals themselves or to health workers, or they can take years to manifest themselves. The result is lost productivity, and a great increase in health care costs which negatively affects other government attempts to improve the quality of life - aside from the enormous social cost.

For example, many older people in all countries have serious protein and micronutrient deficiencies. As people age, their traditional foods may be difficult to chew, swallow or digest, or it may seem bland, and eating then loses its appeal. They may also simply forget to eat. And many aboriginal groups worldwide now suffer from a host of diseases previously unknown to them such as diabetes and certain cancers. This is largely due to a shift from more traditional diets, which included fresh meat, vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts, to some of the highly processed foods of the "modern" society, which are often very nutrient-deficient. Another example would be most people from the former Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union countries, who consume sufficient or too many calories, but who have protein, vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The worldwide size of this group is estimated at 2 billion people.

Over-consumption, taking in many more calories than required, is often accompanied by a deficiency in vitamins and minerals. Many food companies sometimes exploit the human inclination towards fatty and sugary foods by offering consumers cheap and often nutritionally empty products. Compounded with their reduced physical activity and greater meat consumption, these people, the overweight and obese, are a fast-growing segment of the world's population. Ironically they often live, as the middle and upper class, in those countries where hunger is prevalent, such as in India and China. The health care costs, missed productivity and environmental costs associated with this group are huge. The W.H.O. estimates this group to be 1.2 billion people worldwide.

The common thread that affects all of these groups, 4.4 billion people, is malnutrition.