Triple threat of malnutrition puts children in South Asia at risk, UNICEF warns

Unhealthy food environments are fuelling a worsening nutrition crisis for children in the region

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CHILDREN across South Asia face an escalating nutrition crisis, with millions suffering from undernourishment, anaemia and obesity. UNICEF warns that unless urgent action is taken, the futures of millions of children will be at risk.

UNICEF's new report ‘Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children’ finds that the number of children aged 5-19 living with overweight has increased fivefold to 70 million in South Asia since 2000. Every country in the region is affected. Obesity among children has more than doubled in the same period, while undernutrition and anaemia remain stubbornly high.

In addition to rising obesity, South Asia continues to carry the largest burden of undernutrition (low birth weight, stunting and wasting) in the world. 1 in 3 children under five years old are stunted; 1 in 10 children under five years old suffer from wasting; and 1 in 4 are born with low birth weight. Likewise, South Asia carries the largest anaemia burden globally, affecting almost half of women and adolescent girls in the region.

UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia Sanjay Wijesekera said, “Every child has the right to eat well so that he or she can grow up healthy in body and mind. When children get the right nutrition, they are full of energy and better able to learn, play, and chase their dreams. Leadership all over South Asia must prioritise collective action to overcome the triple burden of malnutrition so that, together, we can raise a generation of productive, thriving children who can build a strong and prosperous region.”