Poverty is not a simple topic; it has many different features, varying causes, and a complicated association with health. The first published poverty studies did not use a practical definition of poverty and instead estimated it by assessing overall income, food, clothes, housing, and other factors. But in the end, poverty is shaped by social values and normal standards.
Economic poverty is defined as a lack of financial resources in a household to meet basic necessities, which can be measured in absolute or relative terms. Absolute poverty is the set of resources required to sustain a minimum level of life to survive. Relative poverty, on the other hand, refers to how poor a person or family is compared to others in the same society.