. 2025 Apr 30;24(1):69.

doi: 10.1186/s12937-025-01136-2.

Community-based interventions addressing multiple forms of malnutrition among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

Marijana Ranisavljev^{1

2}, Adi Lukas Kurniawan^{3

4}, Elisabetta Ferrero⁵, Sachin Shinde^{6

7}, Shuangyu Zhao^{5

8}, Uttara Partap⁵, Ntombizodumo Mkwanazi^{9

10}, Noubar Clarisse Dah¹¹, Erick Agure^{12

13}, Hanna Y Berhane¹⁴, Christine Neumann¹², Deda Ogum Alangea¹⁵, Shuyan Liu^{16

17}, Sergej M Ostojic^{1

2

18}, Wafaie W Fawzi^{5

19

20}, Fiona Walsh¹², Till Bärnighausen^{12

5

21}; ARISE-NUTRINT collaborators

Collaborators, Affiliations

Collaborators

Affiliations

¹ Center for Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences, Public Health Nutrition Division, Belgrade, Serbia.
² Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
³ Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany. lukas.kurniawan@uni-heidelberg.de.
⁴ Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) "Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Futures" and Center for Development Research (ZEF), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. lukas.kurniawan@uni-heidelberg.de.
⁵ Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02120, USA.
⁶ Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02120, USA. sshinde@hsph.harvard.edu.
⁷ Center for Inquiry Into Mental Health, Pune, Maharashtra, India. sshinde@hsph.harvard.edu.
⁸ Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
⁹ Research Division, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
¹⁰ Developmental, Capable and Ethical State Division, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Pretoria, South Africa.
¹¹ National Institute of Public Health, Nouna Health Research Center, Nouna, Burkina Faso.
¹² Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany.
¹³ Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) "Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Futures" and Center for Development Research (ZEF), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
¹⁴ Department of Nutrition and Behavioral Sciences, Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
¹⁵ Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
¹⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Campus Charité Mitte), Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
¹⁷ German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Berlin, Germany.
¹⁸ Department of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway.
¹⁹ Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
²⁰ Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
²¹ Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa.

PMID: 40307813
PMCID: PMC12044920
DOI: 10.1186/s12937-025-01136-2

Community-based interventions addressing multiple forms of malnutrition among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

Marijana Ranisavljev et al. Nutr J. 2025.

. 2025 Apr 30;24(1):69.

doi: 10.1186/s12937-025-01136-2.

Authors

Collaborators

Affiliations

¹ Center for Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences, Public Health Nutrition Division, Belgrade, Serbia.
² Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
³ Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany. lukas.kurniawan@uni-heidelberg.de.
⁴ Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) "Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Futures" and Center for Development Research (ZEF), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. lukas.kurniawan@uni-heidelberg.de.
⁵ Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02120, USA.
⁶ Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02120, USA. sshinde@hsph.harvard.edu.
⁷ Center for Inquiry Into Mental Health, Pune, Maharashtra, India. sshinde@hsph.harvard.edu.
⁸ Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
⁹ Research Division, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
¹⁰ Developmental, Capable and Ethical State Division, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Pretoria, South Africa.
¹¹ National Institute of Public Health, Nouna Health Research Center, Nouna, Burkina Faso.
¹² Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany.
¹³ Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) "Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Futures" and Center for Development Research (ZEF), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
¹⁴ Department of Nutrition and Behavioral Sciences, Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
¹⁵ Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
¹⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Campus Charité Mitte), Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
¹⁷ German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Berlin, Germany.
¹⁸ Department of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway.
¹⁹ Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
²⁰ Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
²¹ Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa.

PMID: 40307813
PMCID: PMC12044920
DOI: 10.1186/s12937-025-01136-2

Abstract

Background: Community-based interventions hold promise for addressing adolescent malnutrition, but there is limited knowledge of their nature and impact on adolescent nutrition outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This scoping review aimed to characterize community-based adolescent nutrition interventions in LMICs and summarize their effects on adolescent nutrition outcomes.

Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL through the Cochrane Library for studies published between 2000 and 2023. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies addressing adolescent malnutrition in LMIC community settings, involving adolescents aged 10-19 years. A narrative synthesis was employed to analyze and describe the evidence.

Results: Our review included 37 records from 36 studies conducted in 27 countries. Interventions included micronutrient supplementation, nutrition education, food supplementation and fortification, physical activity education, and multicomponent approaches. The intervention duration ranged from 3 weeks to 2 years, with limited studies grounded in theoretical frameworks. Fifty-seven percent of interventions (n = 21) targeted adolescent girls, indicating a gap in programs for boys and other vulnerable groups, such as out-of-school adolescents and migrants. The intervention delivery agents included research staff and healthcare professionals. The majority of interventions were delivered in person; few utilized social media strategies. Among the studies reviewed, nine out of ten evaluating micronutrient supplementation, six out of seven assessing nutrition education, and seven out of eight examining multicomponent interventions reported improvement in at least one nutrition or diet-related outcome.

Conclusions: Community-based interventions hold promise for improving adolescent nutritional status in LMICs. However, our review highlights gaps in the evidence base, marked by significant variability in intervention design, delivery, and implementation platforms. This underscores the need for integrated approaches and rigorous evaluations of their implementation outcomes, including acceptability, relevance, feasibility, effectiveness, and sustainability, in addressing adolescent nutrition challenges.

Registration: The review protocol was registered prospectively with the Open Science Framework on 19 July 2023 ( https://osf.io/t2d78 ).

Keywords: Adolescents; Community interventions; Low- and middle-income countries; Malnutrition; Review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Scoping literature review flow chart

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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AlGurg R, Mahfouz NA, Otaki F, Paulus A, Khamis AH, Alameddine M. AlGurg R, et al. Front Public Health. 2025 Jul 25;13:1584497. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1584497. eCollection 2025. Front Public Health. 2025. PMID: 40786164 Free PMC article.

References

1. UNICEF. Adolescents Statistics. 2022. Available at: https://data.unicef.org/topic/adolescents/overview/. Accessed 5 Jan 2024.
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Community-based interventions addressing multiple forms of malnutrition among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

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Community-based interventions addressing multiple forms of malnutrition among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

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