10–13 December 2018, IAEA Headquarters, Vienna (Austria)
The double burden of malnutrition (DBM) is characterized by the coexistence of undernutrition (stunting, wasting, vitamin and mineral deficiency) along with overweight, obesity or diet-related NCDs, within individuals, households and populations, and across the life-course. The developmental and economic impacts of this double burden are serious and lasting, with low and middle income countries bearing the greatest burden. The DBM is united by shared drivers and solutions and therefore calls for integrated nutrition action.
The purpose of the symposium is to strengthen the understanding of how to address the DBM by sharing recent research findings and country experience with implementing relevant policies and programme interventions.
Objectives
The objective is to provide a forum for estimating and further exploring the magnitude of the DBM, sharing evidence on biological pathways through which early nutrition influences overweight, obesity and NCDs, identifying knowledge gaps and research needs, reviewing efforts that have been undertaken so far to create nutrition enabling environments and discussing considerations for the design and contextualisation of relevant double-duty actions and policies. Finally, the symposium will identify considerations for policies and action plans to support Member States in achieving their defined nutrition commitments within the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition and SDG2.
Topics
The symposium will cover five thematic areas:
Key Deadlines
Abstracts must be submitted in electronic format through the online submission system INDICO available at the symposium web page.
More information on the symposium website
Detailed information on administrative procedures including participation and registration, abstract submission is provided on the symposium web site:
https://www.iaea.org/events/understanding-the-double-burden-of-malnutrition-symposium-2018
There is no registration fee to attend this symposium.
Sight and Life Magazine on the Double Burden of Malnutrition now available
Currently, 38 million children are obese worldwide, compared with 151 million children stunted, and childhood obesity is increasing in every region of the world. Increasingly these conditions occur at the same time in the same country, household, and even in the same individual. The latest edition of the Sight and Life magazine focuses on Double Burden of Malnutrition and the challenges and opportunities the global community now faces in addressing all forms of malnutrition. Each article in this issue is inspiring and thought-provoking and we very much hope that it will stimulate new ways of thinking that pave the way for meaningful and lasting change.
To download and share the full report visit the Sight and Life website.
A safe and healthy diet contributes to an optimal state of health and protects against all forms of malnutrition. It also reduces the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and promotes a strong immune system that protects against infection. Every human being has a fundamental human right to adequate food and nutrition. However, unhealthy diet is one of the top risk factors for the global burden of disease and, together with maternal and child malnutrition, accounts for about one quarter of global deaths.
Meanwhile, today’s food systems struggle to provide everyone with the safe and sustainably produced food needed to ensure healthy diets. Ensuring a healthy diet now and into the future, therefore, demands that we focus on the most vulnerable populations, on promoting a healthy and diverse diet and on changing to sustainable food production systems.
This information sheet shows that a healthy diet which is sustainably produced and consumed is a “win-win” for people’s health and planetary health. In addition, the information sheet is developed using an equity/gender lens.
Key facts and recommendations for healthy eating are summarized and a useful list of concrete actions are proposed for governments to promote healthy and sustainable diets. Links to WHO fact sheets on related topics are provided.
