What Are the Current Situations and the Challenges of Maternal and Child Malnutrition in Asia?

Abstract

Changes in lifestyle have led to better nutrition or increasing the risk of NCDs in Asia, while there are still many children and reproductive-aged women (RAW) suffering undernutrition whose lives are at risk in the same region. The MDG of reducing the prevalence of underweight <5 children to half has been achieved already or nearly achieved in many Asian countries, whereas South Asian (SA) countries and several other countries (Cambodia, Laos, East Timor and Yemen) have difficulties in achieving the goal by 2015. In particular, East Timor and Yemen are in a critical situation with undernutrition. There is a strong concern about a rapid increase in overweight and obesity rates in West Asian (WA) and some Central Asian (CA) countries. Iron deficiency is one of the most important risk factors that threaten healthy life among RAW especially in SA, followed by Southeast Asia (SEA) and CA. The same issue is observed among children (1-4 y) in the same regions. Dietary risks (based on DALYS) increase with advancing age in most Asian regions whereas high Body Mass Index is the most important risk factor in WA and some CA countries. High priority should be placed on measures to tackle undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies including iron deficiency in SA and some countries in SEA and WA; overweight and obesity in WA and CA; and dietary risks among RAW, in most Asian regions.