GENEVA, 24th May, 2024 (WAM) -- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that the world is facing a massive and complex problem represented by the dual burden of malnutrition, where malnutrition coexists with increasing overweight and obesity.
In a report issued today in Geneva, WHO stated the world faces a massive and complex problem of a double burden of malnutrition, where undernutrition coexists with overweight and obesity.
In 2022, over one billion people aged five years and older were living with obesity, while more than half a billion were underweight. Malnutrition in children was also striking, with 148 million children under five years old affected by stunting (too short for age), 45 million suffering from wasting (too thin for height), and 37 million overweight.
The WHO report also highlighted that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as ischemic heart disease and stroke, cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and diabetes were the biggest killers.
The report reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic reversed the trend of steady gain in life expectancy at birth and healthy life expectancy at birth (HALE).
The pandemic wiped out nearly a decade of progress in improving life expectancy within just two years. Between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years to 71.4 years (back to the level of 2012). Similarly, global healthy life expectancy dropped by 1.5 years to 61.9 years in 2021 (back to the level of 2012).
The report indicates that COVID-19 rapidly emerged as a leading cause of death, ranking as the third-highest cause of mortality globally in 2020 and the second in 2021. Nearly 13 million lives were lost during this period.