The double burden of malnutrition in SE Asia and the Pacific: Priorities, policies and politics

Abstract

The double burden of malnutrition is defined by the co-existence of serious levels of under- and overnutrition.1 Nowhere have overweight rates risen as fast as in the regions of South East Asia and the Pacific. The regions are also burdened with high and often stagnant levels of undernutrition. For countries for which data are available, the regions contain nearly half of the individuals, world wide, suffering from a double burden of malnutrition. This article reviews the trends and their consequences and for nine countries in these two regions it reviews the drivers of the problem and attempts to manage it. The article concludes with an analysis of the political challenges and opportunities presented by the double burden and some suggestions for a leadership agenda within the region to address it.