Children in Asean face ‘double burden’ of obesity, undernutrition

The issue is apparent in middle income countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, according to the report released on Monday.
In Thailand, wasting and overweight children are both on the rise: between 2006 and 2012, wasting increased from 5 per cent to 7 per cent, and being overweight from 8 per cent to 11 per cent, the report concluded.
The causes of being overweight and under-nutrition are linked. A child whose growth is stunted in early childhood is at greater risk of becoming overweight later in life.
The risk for being overweight goes up with increased access to junk food and drinks, physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles – increasing trends in many countries. Obesity contributes significantly to the growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart conditions.
“Many countries in Southeast Asia have seen impressive economic gains in the last decade, lifting millions of children out of poverty,” said Christiane Rudert, Regional Nutrition Adviser for Unicef East Asia and Pacific.
“However, we have now seen the rise of conditions like obesity. Asian children are at risk of malnutrition from both ends of the spectrum.”
Stunting and wasting among children is still an issue in the region, despite economic gains, the report concluded. Besides poverty, other contributing factors include traditional diets lacking nutritious foods, poor infant feeding practices, inadequate clean water and sanitation, and farming a limited variety of crops.
The report finds that the prevalence of stunting is highest in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, as well as in parts of Indonesia and the Philippines.
Laos has the highest proportion of stunted children in Asean, at 44 per cent.
Child malnutrition also has a significant effect on countries’ economies. It reduces parents’ productivity and creates a burden on health care systems. It also could lead to non-communicable diseases, disability and even death, reducing the potential workforce.
The economic cost of non-communicable diseases in Indonesia – much of which is diet-related – is estimated at US$248 billion per year (Bt8.7 trillion), the report said.
Unicef and the EU recently completed a five-year partnership to tackle nutrition issues in five Asian countries including Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines.
“The objective was to help governments develop a holistic approach to nutrition, looking beyond just the health sector,” Rudert said. “For example, we worked to improve maternity leave and families’ access to nutritious food sources.”
The authors recommended governments needed to regulate the marketing of junk food and sugary drinks to children and restrict their availability in schools.
Other suggestions included calls for governments to do more to improve infant and young child feeding practices, to treat acutely malnourished kids, increase agricultural variety, promote better sanitation and hygiene practices, and to build resilience including emergency supplies, training and guidelines.