A situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
The physiological state of an individual that results from the relationship between nutrient intake and requirements and from the body's ability to digest, absorb and use these nutrients.
is most commonly assessed by using anthropometric indicators. As illustrated by the
Use of human body measurements to obtain information about nutritional status.
is useful in the assessment of food security, but being a late stage and non-specific indicator, the information it provides needs to be complemented with indicators that are more specific of food consumption and access to food. In addition to the conventional methods for measuring food consumption, two simple tools that measure dietary diversity and household's access to food can be used successfully at decentralized level. More information on these tools can be found in the “Nutrition indicators and tools” section below.