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Deficiency
diseases result from insufficient amounts of various healthful nutrients
in the diet. Examples include scurvy, caused by a deficiency of
vitamin C, or ascorbic acid; pellagra, caused by a deficiency of
niacin; and osteoporosis, caused at least in part by a lack of calcium.
Deficiency diseases are most prevalent in poverty- or war-stricken
areas of the world, where malnutrition is widespread. Deficiency
diseases are also found in more affluent nations where food is prevalent
but people’s food choices or behavior do not provide well-rounded
nutrition, resulting in such disorders as anorexia nervosa, bulimia,
and anemia.
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