Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Food and Agriculture Organization

In several developing countries, undernourishment is still prevalent while obesity and its related co-morbidities, including chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, are emerging and contributing increasingly to morbidity and mortality. Several countries are now facing a double burden of malnutrition, i.e. caloric (energy) and micronutrient deficiencies and, at the same time, obesity and diet-related chronic diseases. This "nutrition transition" is associated with rapid economic development, urbanization and global changes, which lead to shifts towards a more energy dense diet, including more fat and sugar and more processed foods, and at the same time dramatic alterations in physical activity patterns and lifestyles. While infectious diseases and maternal and child undernutrition continue to take an enormous toll in lives and health worldwide, the rapid rise of NCDs represents one of the major health challenges to global development in the twenty-first century and threatens economic and social development of nations as well as the lives and health of millions globally. This publication explores the situation of the double burden of malnutrition in six geographically and culturally diverse case study countries and presents conclusions and recommendations from a follow-up workshop with the case study authors.

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