Cheap, Sugary Foods Fuel Rising Childhood Obesity, Creating Global Double Burden Of Malnutrition: UNICEF Report
When the word malnutrition comes in the minds, everyone imagines thinness, weakness, and hunger. The term has been associated with undernourishment in the past. But the experts in the health department now warn that malnutrition is not only about food deficiency—it is more closely associated with obesity and lifestyle disorders like diabetes.
By 2025, the UNICEF projects that school-aged children and adolescents living with obesity will exceed those living with underweight conditions by a landslide of a global change. The change holds grave risks not just to health but also to the social and economic development of entire countries and communities.
The UN agency's Child Nutrition Report identifies unhealthy food environments as one of the main causes of this crisis. Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Indian Medical Association in Cochin, makes clear: "When we hear about malnutrition, we think of skinny children. But now, malnutrition can lead to obesity as well. Low-income families tend to purchase inexpensive foods containing a lot of sugar and fat, but little nutrients."
