Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking in excess

amount. Malnutrition essentially means bad nourishment. It concerns not enough as well as too much food, the wrong types of food, and the body's response to a wide range of infections that result in malabsorption of nutrients or the inability to use nutrients properly to maintain health. Clinically, malnutrition is characterized by inadequate or excess intake of protein, energy, and micronutrients such as vitamins, and the frequent infections and disorders that result. People are malnourished if they are unable to utilize fully the food they eat, for example due to diarrhoea or other illnesses (secondary malnutrition), if they consume too many calories (over nutrition), or if their diet does not provide adequate calories and protein for growth and maintenance (under nutrition or protein-energy malnutrition). In most of the world, malnutrition is present in the form of under nutrition, which is caused by a diet lacking adequate calories and protein. While malnutrition is more common in developing countries, it is also present in industrialized countries. In wealthier nations it is more likely to be caused by unhealthy diets with excess energy, fats, and refined carbohydrates. The World Health Organization cites malnutrition as the greatest single threat to the world's public health

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malnutrition http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001441/ http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/malnutrition/en/