According to an UNICEF 2019 research, one in three children is not growing appropriately because of malnutrition.
“In many countries, and even within households, these three forms of malnutrition – undernutrition, hidden hunger and overweight – co-exist. This means that a single country may face the challenge of addressing high rates of stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity. Or a family may have an overweight mother and a stunted child. These trends reflect what is known as the triple burden of malnutrition, a burden that threatens the survival, growth and development of children, economies and societies.”
“This burden is only expected to grow. Strikingly, not a single country has made progress in decreasing levels of overweight and obesity in the past 20 years.”
Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. Urbanization caused a rapid change in diet and lifestyle, with more ultra-processed foods and less physical activity.
The question remains: “why are so many children eating too little of what they need, while an increasing number of children are eating too much of what they don’t need?”
Reference and full article on the link:
https://features.unicef.org/state-of-the-worlds-children-2019-nutrition/