1Nutrition – the sum of the process by which the body uses food for energy, maintenance, and growth.
2Malnutrition – a state in which a prolong lack of one or more nutrients retards physical development or causes the appearance of specific clinical conditions.
3Optimal nutrition – means that a person is receiving and using the essential nutrient to maintain health and well-being at the highest possible level.
4Nutritional status – the condition of the body as it relates to the consumption and use of food.
5Good nutritional status: the intake of a balanced diet containing all the essential nutrients necessary to meet the body’s requirements for energy, maintenance, and growth.
6Poor nutritional status: inadequate intake (or use) of nutrients to meet the body’s requirements for energy, maintenance, and growth.