In a community with chronically low dietary protein availability, which complex public health outcome would most likely emerge as a consequence of limited nitrogen intake?

• A. A rapid national decline in carbohydrate-related disorders because low protein automatically converts starches into functioning immunological proteins at the population level.
• B. Increased rates of growth retardation and impaired immune response due to reduced synthesis of structural proteins, enzymes, and antibodies that depend on adequate amino acid and nitrogen supply.
• C. Immediate improvements in cognitive performance across the population as the body reallocates nitrogen away from peripheral tissues into the brain irrespective of nutrient availability.
• D. Complete prevention of infectious disease outbreaks because pathogens cannot survive in hosts with low-protein diets, making public health outcomes uniformly better.

Answer: (B)