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. 2024 Apr;20(2):e13607.
doi: 10.1111/mcn.13607. Epub 2023 Dec 14.

Nutritional status of school-age children (5-19 years) in South Asia: A scoping review

Tashi Choedon  1 , Eilise Brennan  2 , William Joe  1 , Natasha Lelijveld  2 , Oliver Huse  3 , Christina Zorbas  3 , Kathryn Backholer  3 , Zivai Murira  4 , Stephanie V Wrottesley  2 , Vani Sethi  4
Affiliations

Nutritional status of school-age children (5-19 years) in South Asia: A scoping review

Tashi Choedon et al. Matern Child Nutr. 2024 Apr.

Abstract

Information on malnutrition for school-age children and adolescents (5-19 years) in South Asia is fragmented and inconsistent, which limits the prioritization of nutrition policies, programmes and research for this age group. This scoping review aimed to synthesize existing evidence on the burden of malnutrition for children and adolescents aged 5-19 years in South Asia, and on interventions to improve their nutritional status. Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Medline and Google Scholar were systematically searched for articles published between January 2016 and November 2022. Eligible studies reported the prevalence of undernutrition, overweight/obesity, micronutrient deficiencies and unhealthy dietary intakes, and interventions that aimed to address these in South Asia. In total, 296 articles met our inclusion criteria. Evidence revealed widespread, yet heterogeneous, prevalence of undernutrition among South Asian children and adolescents: thinness (1.9%-88.8%), wasting (3%-48%), underweight (9.5%-84.4%) and stunting (3.7%-71.7%). A triple burden of malnutrition was evident: the prevalence of overweight and obesity ranged from 0.2% to 73% and 0% to 38% (with rapidly rising trends), respectively, alongside persistent micronutrient deficiencies. Diets often failed to meet nutritional requirements and high levels of fast-food consumption were reported. Education, fortification, supplementation and school feeding programmes demonstrated beneficial effects on nutritional status. Comprehensive and regular monitoring of all forms of malnutrition among children and adolescents, across all countries in South Asia is required. Further, more large-scale intervention research is needed to ensure policy and programmes effectively target and address malnutrition among children and adolescents in South Asia.

Keywords: South Asia; adolescents; micronutrients; nutrition; school‐age children.

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Conflict of interest statement

Tashi Choedon and William Joe are employed by IEG India, which conducts work relating to malnutrition in the South Asia region. Vani Sethi and Zivai Murira are employed by UNICEF's South Asia Regional Office, which conducts work relating to malnutrition in the South Asia Region. Oliver Huse, Kathryn Backholer and Christina Zorbas receive consulting funds from UNICEF New York. Christina Zorbas receives additional funds from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) and Deakin University. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart for nutritional status of school‐age children in South Asia, 2016–2022.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Intervention studies by nutritional outcome of interest.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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