Abstract:
A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition
and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of
age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administra-
tive units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4%
(58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5%
in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5
(44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in
Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to
researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic.
