Malnutrition is the state of becoming ill or weak because someone has not eaten enough good food. It names the problem; malnourished is how you describe the person. Doctors, aid agencies, and news reports use it for a serious, often long-lasting lack of the right food — not for skipping lunch. Though actually, specialists also use it when the diet is full of the wrong food, or missing one vital thing such as iron, not only when the stomach is empty. In ordinary English, people still hear hunger first. It is a formal word. Starvation is more extreme: almost no food at all.

營養不良