Malnutrition

Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. The term malnutrition covers 2 broad groups of conditions. One is undernutrition, which includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals). The other is overweight, obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer).

Malnutrition affects people in every country. Around 890 million adults worldwide are living with obesity, while 390 million are underweight. An estimated 35.5 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight, while some 150 million are stunted. Adding to this burden are the 605 million or 31% of women of reproductive age around the world affected by anaemia.

Many families cannot afford or access enough nutritious foods like fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes, meat and milk, while foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt are cheaper and more readily available, leading to a rapid rise in the number of children and adults who are overweight and obese, in poor as well as rich countries. It is quite common to find undernutrition and overweight within the same community, household or even individual – it is possible to be both overweight and micronutrient deficient, for example.

In April 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition from 2016 to 2025. The Decade aims to catalyse policy commitments that result in measurable action to address all forms of malnutrition. The aim is to ensure all people have access to healthier and more sustainable diets to eradicate all forms of malnutrition worldwide. In March 2025, the UN General Assembly extended the Decade of Action to 2030. This extension aims to maintain the political momentum to end malnutrition in all its forms by 2030 at global, regional and national levels and to align its objectives with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.