2 Women’s Health Is a Community Issue
Women
Are More
at Risk for
Disease and
Poor Health
➤ Not getting enough
good food can keep
a girl from growing
properly, and can
lead to serious health
problems.
165
eating for good health
Because a woman’s body is different from a man’s, and
because of the basic inequalities between men and women,
women face a greater risk of disease and poor health. Here
are some of the health problems that affect women most:
Poor nutrition
Poor nutrition is the most common and disabling health
problem among women in poor countries. Starting in
childhood, a girl is often given less food to eat than a boy. As
a result, she may grow more slowly and her bones may not
develop properly (which may later cause difficulty during
childbirth). The problem worsens as she becomes a young
woman, because her need for good food increases as her
workload increases, and as she starts her monthly bleeding,
becomes pregnant, and breastfeeds.
Without enough good food, she may begin to suffer from
general poor health, including exhaustion, weakness, and
anemia. If a woman who is already malnourished becomes
pregnant, she is more likely to have serious complications with
childbirth, such as heavy bleeding, infection, or a baby that is
born too small.
The health worker told me I
should drink more milk and eat
green leafy vegetables. But I save
all our milk for my husband and
son, and we don’t have the money
to buy vegetables.
A woman’s health cannot be isolated from her social status. In most of rural India, women drink
less milk than their husbands and sons and they eat only after the men have been served. This
usually leaves women with a limited diet, and it also tells about how she is valued.
—CHETNA, Ahmedabad, India
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012