Double burden of underweight and obesity: Insights from new global evidence

Abstract

The double burden of malnutrition—the simultaneous manifestation of both undernutrition and overweight and obesity—continues to be a major worldwide public health problem. 1 Having updated data on key malnutrition outcomes is crucial for evidence-based actions to effectively address one of the primary contributors to poor health globally. 2 In The Lancet, the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) present a worldwide, up-to-date, and large body of evidence on key malnutrition components: underweight or thinness and obesity. 3 Using extensive high-standard population-based data, the authors estimate the age-standardised prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity and the combined burden for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years) in 200 countries and territories over the past three decades (1990–2022).