Double burden of malnutrition PDF

Running head: DUAL BURDEN OF MALNUTRITION
DUAL BURDEN OF MALNUTRITION
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DUAL BURDEN OF MALNUTRITION
The double burden of malnutrition can be explained as the coexistence of under-
nutrition conditions in addition to overweight, obesity and even other diet related non-
communicable disorders. This might prevail within individuals as well as households and
populations through the entire life-span. Researchers are of the opinion that under-nutrition in
both acute and chronic forms include wasting and stunting and are found to be strongly
inversely correlated with the wealth of the nations (Tzioumis et al., 2015). Many of the low
as well as the middle income countries have become successful in achieving economic
advancement and passed the nutrition transition phase and so their rates of under-nutrition
had declines to some extent (Tzioumis et al., 2015). However, this transition had resulted in
new problems of increasing number of obese and overweight people in the nations. This
assignment would first discuss the epidemiology and aetiology of the double burden of
malnutrition and how it had impacted the Asian country of India. It would also discuss the
interventions that could be taken to help India and similar nations to overcome the crisis
period successfully.
The double burden of malnutrition has affected nearly the entire world emerging out
as the global burden on the planet and it is important to understand the statistics and
epidemiology. About 1.9 billion adults all over the planet comprising of 18 years and above
are found to be overweight. About greater than 600 million people are found to suffer from
obesity with 41 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight or obesity. Again, on
the other hand about 462 million people in the world mainly adults are found to be
underweight (Vaezghasemi et al., 2014). Analysis of the statistical report has shown that
about 52 million people in the world are found to be wasted meaning that they are too thin in
comparison to their weight. About 155 million people are found to be stunted meaning that
they are too short for the age. It has been also found that about 264 million women of the
reproductive age are affected by iron-amenable anaemia. Therefore, from the statistical

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analysis, it can be clearly depicted that both obesity and under-nutrition go hand in hand
creating a double burden of disorders in every affected nation of the world.
The issue of the double burden of disorder mainly occurs at three important levels.
Therefore, in order to develop effective strategies for the mitigation of the issues, it is very
important to understand the aetiology of the global burden of double burden of malnutrition.
Firstly, the double burden of malnutrition can occur at the individual level. Researchers have
found out that this can occur due to the simultaneous form of development of any of the two
or more various of the types of malnutrition. They have found examples where individuals
have been seen to exhibit obesity symptoms along with nutritional anaemia or any nutritional
insufficiencies of deficiencies. Studies are also of the opinion that it can occur through
different phases of the life-span and can undergo temporary separation. This might occur due
to the contrasting nutrition environments (Tzioumis & Adair., 2014). It might result from the
shifting of the economic as well as the other circumstances like being overweight as an adult
when the individual was previously stunted due to chronic disorders across the various phases
of the time of childhood.
Secondly, the double burden of malnutrition can also develop at the household level.
Studies have been conducted where professionals had witnessed several examples of the issue
taking place at household level. It has been seen that a mother who suffers from nutritional
anaemia might have a grandparent or a child who was obese and suffered from diabetes type
2 issues. Statistical reports have revealed that dual-burden household are indeed one of the
common features in the middle income countries that are undergoing rapid forms of nutrition
transitions (El-Kassas & Ziade, 2017).
Third, burden of double burden of malnutrition is also seen to occur at the population
level. This includes under-nutrition as well as overweight, obesity as well as non-

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communicable disorders within the same community, region as well as in the regions and
even the nations. These components have affected many countries and are seen to co-exist
together. Researchers are also seen to affect women in many countries along with rapid
increase in overweight and other different types of NCDs (Thow et al., 2017).
In order to develop effective interventions and strategies for the mitigation of the
double burden of malnutrition, it is significant to know about the causes of the issue.
Epigenetics suggest that alteration of expression of different types of genes and not just the
genes themselves have the ability of influencing the risk of obesity, overweight, own birth
weight, and other NCDS. A number of factors can result in alteration of expression of genes
in the babies. This includes maternal under-nutrition (Tzioumis & Adair., 2014). This can be
seen to lead to alteration of the procedures by which the body of the infant regulates energy.
This can be passed on from generation to generation. Another important cause is the early-
life nutrition. Researchers are of the opinion that the in-utero as well as the early-life
nutrition environments can have huge impacts on the development of child. Researchers are
of the opinion that quality as well as quantity of the nutrition during the development of the
foetus as well as on the infancy can impact the immune system of the body and affect the
cognitive development as well as effective form of regulation of energy storage and even that
of the expenditure. Poor maternal nutrition before pregnancy and during it can result in
preterm birth and low infant birth weight (Dong et al., 2018). This can result in higher risks
of the metabolic disorders and even abdominal adiposity in the different phases of later.
Females who are again seen to be obese or have gained weight during pregnancy remain at
greater risk for giving birth to babies with larger birth weight. This puts the infants at a much
higher risk for developing obesity later in adulthood and faster pace of weight gain in earlier
part of life.