scholarly journals The “First 1,000 Days+” as Key Contributor to the Double Burden of Malnutrition

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Hoffman ◽  
Maaike Arts ◽  
France Bégin

Growth from conception through age 2 years, the “First 1,000 days,” is important for long-term health of the growing fetus and child and is influenced by several factors including breastfeeding and complementary feeding. Low- and middle-income countries face a complicated array of factors that influence healthy growth, ranging from high food insecurity, poor sanitation, limited prenatal or neonatal care, and high levels of poverty that exacerbate the “vicious cycle” associated with intergenerational promotion of growth retardation. It is now well recognized that the period prior to conception, both maternal and paternal health and diet, play an important role in fetal development, giving rise to the concept of the “First 1,000 Days+”. Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices can be improved through a combination of interventions such as baby-friendly hospitals, regulations for marketing of foods and beverages to children, adequate counseling and support, and sound social and behavior change communication, but continued research is warranted to make such programs more universal and fully effective. Thus, improving the overall understanding of factors that influence growth, such as improved breastfeeding and age-appropriate and adequate complementary feeding, is critical to reducing the global prevalence of the double burden of malnutrition.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Mulimba Were ◽  
SAVERIO STRANGES ◽  
Ishor Sharma ◽  
Juan-Camilo Vargas-Gonzalez ◽  
M. Karen Campbell

Introduction: The majority of the populations in Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) are encountering the double burden of malnutrition (DBM): the coexistence of both undernutrition and overnutrition sequalae. With DBM being a new phenomenon in research, little is known about its etiology, operational definitions and risk factors influencing its manifestation. The proposed scoping review is aimed at mapping literature with regards to the DBM phenomenon among preschool children and women of reproductive age in LMICs who are among the most high-risk groups to encounter DBM. Methods: A comprehensive literature search will be conducted in the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, LILACS and ProQuest Dissertations & Thesis Global. Additionally, searches in other government and institutional sources (World Health Organization website and university repositories) and forward and backward citation tracking of seminal articles will also be done. Two reviewers will independently conduct title and abstract screening and full text screening. Similarly, data extraction and coding will independently be done by two reviewers. Information extracted from included literature will be analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis approach and reported as per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval is not required for this study because the review is based on literature from publicly available sources. The dissemination of our findings will be done through presentations in relevant conferences and publication in a peer-reviewed journal.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e054673
Author(s):  
Jason Mulimba Were ◽  
Saverio Stranges ◽  
Ishor Sharma ◽  
Juan Camilo Vargas-Gonzalez ◽  
M. Karen Campbell

IntroductionThe majority of the populations in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) are encountering the double burden of malnutrition (DBM): the coexistence of both undernutrition and overnutrition sequalae. With DBM being a new phenomenon in research, little is known about its aetiology, operational definitions and risk factors influencing its manifestation. The proposed scoping review is aimed at mapping literature with regard to the DBM phenomenon among preschool children and women of reproductive age in LMICs who are among the most high-risk groups to encounter DBM.MethodsA comprehensive literature search will be conducted in the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, LILACS and ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis Global. Additionally, searches in other government and institutional sources (WHO website and university repositories) and forward and backward citation tracking of seminal articles will also be done. Two reviewers will independently conduct title and abstract screening and full-text screening. Similarly, data extraction and coding will independently be done by two reviewers. Information extracted from included literature will be analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis approach and reported as per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required for this study because the review is based on literature from publicly available sources. The dissemination of our findings will be done through presentations in relevant conferences and publication in a peer-reviewed journal.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0244362
Author(s):  
Sandra Boatemaa Kushitor ◽  
Lily Owusu ◽  
Mawuli Kobla Kushitor

Anaemia and underweight or overweight/obesity are major public health problems driving maternal and child mortality in low- and middle-income countries. While the burden of these conditions is recognised, the evidence for the co-occurrence of these conditions is fragmented and mixed, especially at the individual level. Further, many studies have focused on families and communities. The different pathways for the occurrence of anaemia and BMI challenges indicate that an individual can potentially live with both conditions and suffer the complications. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with the co-occurrence of anaemia and BMI challenges among a cohort of women in Ghana. Data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey were used. The sample size was 4 337 women aged 15–49 years who were not pregnant during the survey. Women who suffered simultaneously from underweight or overweight/obesity and anaemia were considered as having the double burden of malnutrition. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and logistic regression in STATA. One-fifth of the participants were overweight (21%), 4% were underweight and about one-tenth were obese (12%). The prevalence of anaemia was 41%. Only one in three women had normal weight and was not anaemic (34%). About 14% of the women experienced the double burden of malnutrition. Being overweight and anaemic (57%) was the most common form of this double burden. Age, marital status, parity, and wealth were t key risk factors associated with the double burden of malnutrition. The findings from this study show that women experience multiple nutritional challenges concurrently and that only a few women had healthy nutritional status. This information is particularly important and can be introduced into health education programmes to help address misconceptions about body weight and health.


2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 414-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rishi Caleyachetty ◽  
G N Thomas ◽  
Andre P Kengne ◽  
Justin B Echouffo-Tcheugui ◽  
Samantha Schilsky ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Background Adults and young children in countries experiencing the nutrition transition are known to be affected simultaneously by undernutrition and overnutrition. Adolescence is a critical period for growth and development. Yet, it is unknown to what extent this double burden of malnutrition affects adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and the macrolevel contextual factors associated with the double burden of malnutrition. Objective The aim was to quantify the magnitude of the double burden of malnutrition among adolescents and to examine the potential sources of heterogeneity in prevalence estimates across LMICs. Design We used individual-participant data from the Global School-Based Student Health and Health Behavior in School-Aged Children surveys conducted in 57 LMICs between 2003 and 2013, comprising 129,276 adolescents aged 12–15 y. Pooled estimates of stunting, thinness, or both; overweight or obesity; and concurrent stunting and overweight or obesity were calculated overall, by regions, and stratified by sex, with random-effects meta-analysis. Guided by UNICEF's conceptual framework for child malnutrition, we used ecological linear regression models to examine the association between macrolevel contextual factors (internal conflict, lack of democracy, gross domestic product, food insecurity, urbanization, and survey year) and stunting, thinness, and overweight and obesity prevalence, respectively. Results The prevalence of stunting was 10.2% (95% CI: 8.3%, 12.2%) and of thinness was 5.5% (95% CI: 4.3%, 6.9%). The prevalence of overweight or obesity was 21.4% (95% CI: 18.6%, 24.2%). Between 38.4% and 58.7% of the variance in adolescent malnutrition was explained by macrolevel contextual factors. The prevalence of concurrent stunting and overweight or obesity was 2.0% (95% CI: 1.7%, 2.5%). Conclusions The double burden of malnutrition among adolescents in LMICs is common. Context-sensitive implementation and scale-up of interventions and policies for the double burden of malnutrition are needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal to end malnutrition in all of its forms by 2030. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03346473.


2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Pradeilles ◽  
Kaleab Baye ◽  
Michelle Holdsworth

Multiple forms of malnutrition co-exist (the double burden) in low- and middle-income countries, but most interventions and policies target only one form. Identifying shared drivers of the double burden of malnutrition is a first step towards establishing effective interventions that simultaneously address the double burden of malnutrition (known as double-duty actions). We identified shared drivers for the double burden of malnutrition, to assess which double-duty actions are likely to have the greatest reach in preventing all forms of malnutrition, in the context of the sustainable development goals. We reviewed existing conceptual frameworks of the drivers of undernutrition, obesity and environmental sustainability. Shared drivers affecting all forms of malnutrition and environmental sustainability were captured using a socio-ecological approach. The extent to which drivers were addressed by the five double-duty actions proposed by the WHO was assessed. Overall, eighty-three shared drivers for the double burden of malnutrition were identified. A substantial proportion (75·0%) could be addressed by the five WHO double-duty actions. ‘Regulations on marketing’ and ‘promotion of appropriate early and complementary feeding in infants’ addressed the highest proportion of shared drivers (65·1% and 53·0%, respectively). Twenty-four drivers were likely to be sensitive to environmental sustainability, with ‘regulations on marketing’ and ‘school food programmes and policies’ likely to have the greatest environmental reach. A quarter of the shared drivers remained unaddressed by the five WHO double-duty actions. Substantially more drivers could be addressed with minor modifications to the WHO double-duty actions and the addition of de novo actions.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjnph-2020-000136
Author(s):  
Niisoja M Torto ◽  
Kelly D Brownell

Background and aimsIn many low-income and middle-income countries, the double burden of malnutrition threatens public health and economic progress, urging a re-evaluation of the roles and responsibilities of nutrition actors, both traditional and non-traditional. This study examines the food aid and assistance activities of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)—one non-traditional actor in the double burden conversation—and the potential for these activities to reach beyond their traditional mandate on undernutrition to also address overweight and obesity in Ghana.MethodsInformation on WFP activities in Ghana from 2012 up through its planning into 2023 was extracted from 11 WFP planning, operations and evaluation documents. WFP activities were then judged against the WHO’s framework on the determinants of the double burden of malnutrition to determine their potential to address the double burden. Semistructured interviews were also conducted with 17 key informants in the global nutrition landscape to identify challenges that may complicate the role of WFP and other actors in addressing the double burden.ResultsThe analysis demonstrates that WFP activities in Ghana can serve as a platform on which to address the double burden, particularly by targeting the food access, food systems and socioeconomic disadvantage determinants of the double burden. Actors’ uncertainty with what role WFP should play in addressing the double burden, insufficient government attention to malnutrition and poor data on overweight and obesity were identified as potential challenges that complicate addressing the double burden.ConclusionThe findings suggest that integrating WFP as a partner in the effort to address the double burden in Ghana might help amplify progress. To better address the double burden, WFP might prioritise retrofitting existing activities rather than implementing new interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie J. P. van den Assum ◽  
Semnen R. Lambert ◽  
Inge de Bresser ◽  
Rutger A. Schilpzand

AbstractThe double burden of malnutrition (DBM) is described as the co-existence of undernutrition and overweight or diet-related non-communicable diseases within a country, community or an individual (WHO). It is a major global issue, affecting approximately half of the worlds’ population. International organizations have published policy reports to function as guidelines for national implementation to tackle the double burden of malnutrition. The goal of this study is to analyze the advancement of the implementation of these recommendations in a number of middle-income countries.Reports and recommendations on policies against DBM from 10 leading international organizations are analyzed and compared on several aspects, such as proposed measures, stakeholder involvement and target population. These organizations are UN, FAO, WHO, EAT forum, GAIN, World Food Program, World Bank, UNICEF, IFPRI and Global Panel on Agriculture and food systems for Nutrition. The level of implementation of the described policies is studied for Nigeria, Zambia and Indonesia by means of desk research and stakeholder interviews. These (semi-structured) interviews are based on the encountered information gaps within the desk research. Stakeholders were selected from a variety of organizations, such as government, NGO's, consumer organizations, science and industry in order to be able to examine the subject from different angles.The study is still ongoing at the time of abstract submission. The (preliminary) results and conclusions will be presented and they are expected to describe per country which nutrition policies against DBM are initiated or implemented. Major learnings and best practices of these implementations will be reported and major differences and similarities between implementations in Nigeria, Zambia and Indonesia will be described and compared with the policy guidelines from the leading health organizations. These results may be used as learning when policies against DBM are newly implemented in other middle-income countries or to improve existing policies.


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