Malnutrition includes both undernutrition (child stunting, wasting and micronutrient deficiencies) and overnutrition (being overweight or obese). Malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of life is especially harmful. Stunting, or being too short for one’s age, occurs with long-term inadequate nutrition. Stunting is associated with “severe irreversible physical and cognitive damage,” including increased morbidity and mortality from infections and reduced cognition and educational performance.
Efforts to create healthier and more sustainable food systems must also improve childhood nutrition. For example, while animal-source foods generally have higher environmental impacts than plant-based foods, they also provide valuable sources of high-quality protein and micronutrients. Animal-source foods are especially important for promoting the growth and health of young children in low- and middle-income countries, where their consumption may reduce stunting and other forms of undernutrition. Moderating consumption of animal foods like ruminant meat in over-consuming regions may provide the climate “space” to increase consumption and reduce malnutrition in under-consuming populations.
The share of children experiencing stunted growth consistently but slowly declined from 33% of the global population in 2000 to 22% in 2022. While moving in the right direction, the annual rate of decline achieved from 2018 to 2022 needs to accelerate greater than 10 times to eliminate stunting and other forms of child malnutrition altogether by 2030.
Governments can work to reduce stunting and other forms of malnutrition in early childhood through measures to support breastfeeding, increasing access and affordability of healthy foods, and providing social protection measures such as nutrition assistance and school meal programs.