By Lynn Khaddaj | Staff Writer

Gender discrepancies in nutrition and how it affects the generations’ development. 

Through all different life stages between men and women, each has their own nutritional needs. Many people who don’t meet this threshold often end up with detrimental effects to their bodies, as they become more vulnerable to diseases and challenges obstructing their daily life. In humanitarian emergencies, gender inequality exacerbates food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty. One of the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 5) enforced by the United Nations aims at eliminating gender discrepancies and empowering all women and girls everywhere, but unfortunately, up until this day, there is no nutritional equality.

There are many reasons as to why there is a gender gap in the nutritional intake. Even though females have higher nutritional demands throughout their lives, sociocultural norms in many areas of the globe contribute to widening this issue. Females continue to be twice as likely as males to suffer from all types of malnutrition, underlining the need for a better understanding of gender differences in food consumption and dietary intakes as a driver of health. 

In Lebanon, there was an impressive improvement regarding gender inequality, but even so, the country’s “Nutrition Profile Report” shed light on the gender inequality index which was 0.38 in 2017. This is due to the presence of customs and social conventions in some areas where they have uneven gender roles at home and in society. 

Gender inequality is a major hazard to long-term development and a source of malnutrition in mothers, babies, and children. The nutrition condition of pregnant and nursing moms has a direct influence on their children’s nutrition. Early stunting in a child’s life can result in irreparable cognitive development harm, as well as educational, financial, and productivity repercussions that last into adulthood. Even if there were attempts to fix this problem, micronutrient deficiencies in childhood, such as iron deficiency anemia, will have long-term consequences. Similarly, childhood obesity begins a process that leads to chronic and no communicable illness in adulthood and it can impact many areas of child development. As a result, there’s a higher chance of getting overweight and acquiring chronic ailments. Undernutrition on the other hand, hinders sustainability in a society as it has significant economic costs in terms of lost national productivity and economic growth, reaching 11% of GDP in some African and Asian countries. 

Lebanon has made very little progress on its diet-related non communicable disease (NCD) goals, with an estimated 39.9% of adult women and 30.5% of adult males living with obesity. Obesity is also more common in Lebanon than the MENA region with a 10.3% greater regional average for women and 7.5% greater for men.

Lebanon is on its track to reach one of its nutrition objectives for mothers, infants, and young children, but still has a long way to go. There has been little progress toward the goal of lowering anemia among women of an adult age (28.3%). Likewise, there has been little progress in achieving the low-birth-weight objective (9.2%). On the bright side, Lebanon has made some progress toward meeting the stunting objective, as the most recent prevalent data shows low percentages of stunting in children in comparison to other Asian regions. 

It is important to shed light on the policy mechanisms that address gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of food security and nutrition based on the challenges described above. The laws, norms, and regulatory procedures, as well as the institutions’ and communities’ capacity to apply them, make up an enabling environment. 

The right to food safeguards everyone’s right to a dignified life free of hunger, food instability, and malnutrition. Women are more equipped to assert their right to food when they are empowered by education, economic possibilities, access to justice, and political engagement. 

The norms surrounding men’s and women’s roles and responsibilities at the intra-household and community levels were the focus of this scoping paper. The fundamental inequality processes cannot be reversed unless policy addresses them. In addition, laws have a significant influence on not only a single woman’s path through the food system, but whole institutions. Mapping the legal gender gap in agriculture reveals potential remedies in three areas: property, labor, and finance. Reducing gender-based legislative prohibitions in these regions will create a more enabling climate for women, allowing them to engage in food systems on an equal footing and without fear. Women’s access to productive resources clearly leads to increased productivity, increased growth, and superior results for the following generation. 

In conclusion, gender inequality is a severe issue that affects not only women, but also many generations to come. This discrepancy also affected the nutritional status of women and children, as studies showed that they are more vulnerable to diseases and dietary issues. As discussed above, we should spread awareness and encourage women’s empowerment, especially in this field. Furthermore, policy makers and governments should acknowledge that in order to end hunger, they should eliminate this gender inequality and provide women adequate nutritional intake.