Latin America and the Caribbean facing the challenge of malnutrition

Latin America and the Caribbean increasingly face a complex problem of undernutrition that includes undernutrition, which includes stunting, childhood wasting, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies, as well as overweight and obesity.

According to the UN Panorama 2023 report, region experienced an increase in prevalence overweight in boys and girls under the age of 5 between 2000 and 2022, and in the prevalence of obesity in adults between 2000 and 2016, surpassing the world average in both cases.

Between 2020 and 2022, in the context of the pandemic, prevalence of overweight in boys and girls under 5 years of age rose slightly from 8.3% to 8.6% with a larger increase in South America, a smaller increase in Central America and remained stable in the Caribbean.

In 2022, the prevalence of overweight in boys and girls under 5 years of age was 9.7% in South America, 6.7% in Central America, and 6.6% in the Caribbean.

“Overweight and obesity are a growing challenge, responsible for approximately 2.8 million deaths” from noncommunicable diseases in 2021 in the Americas, said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

“In the last 50 years, the rates overweight and obesity tripled, affecting 62.5% of the population in the region”, he added and assessed as “worrying” the regional prevalence of overweight in children and adolescents, which is 33.6%, higher than the world average. “It is urgent to move forward in the transformation of food systems to guarantee healthy nutrition for all.”

Obesity is not the only challenge in this matter. Some countries still have a high prevalence stunted growth in boys and girls under the age of 5.

At the regional level, this figure reached 11.5%. Although a significant reduction has been achieved since 2000, the decline has slowed in recent years. Between 2000 and 2012, the prevalence decreased by about 5 percentage points, while between 2012 and 2022, the decrease was only 1.2 percentage points.

“IN Latin America and the Caribbean, Child malnutrition is a problem that, in its various forms, continues to affect children and adolescents,” said Garry Conille, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

He added: “The malnutrition and overweight in childhood These are two sides of the same coin and require a holistic approach.

Overweight in children has increased alarmingly over the past two decades, threatening children’s health and well-being.

On the other hand, child malnutrition prevails in the region, mainly affecting the unworthy population of Afro origin and the rural population.

At UNICEF, we call on countries to promote public health policies that protect children’s right to nutrition, ensuring they have access to nutritious food and appropriate services and practices.