The development of a nutrition education programme for parental feeding styles and practices

Abstract

Many low- and middle-income countries are faced with a rise in the double burden of malnutrition - undernutrition and overweight/obesity. Nutrition-related factors contribute to approximately 45% of deaths in children under five years (mainly due to undernutrition) globally, while low- and middle-income countries are simultaneously witnessing a rise in childhood overweight and obesity. In 2016, an estimated 41 million children under the age of five in low- and middle-income countries were overweight or obese, while 155 million were chronically undernourished. In Africa alone, the estimated prevalence of overweight and obese children in 2010 was 8.5%, expected to reach 12.7% in 2020. In comparison, globally, one in nine people are either hungry or undernourished, while one in three people are overweight.