The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of emerging double threat of childhood obesity and under-nutrition in low- and middle-income countries. 

A statement from WHO, issued yesterday, said many low- and middle-income countries are neglecting overweight and obesity as major health threats. 

They have policies in place to tackle under-nutrition but lack policies to halt the growing burden of diseases due to the rise of overweight, and obesity, according to new information from WHO. 

"More than 75 per cent of overweight children live in developing countries with the prevalence in Africa almost doubling in the last 20 years. Obese children are more likely to be obese as adults, with an increased risk of diabetes and other diseases,” reads the statement in part. 

To assist countries close the policy gaps, WHO has recommended a consolidated package of 24 Essential Nutrition Actions, which outline the effective ways countries can improve their peoples’ nutritional status by preventing both under nutrition and overweight. 

Among the interventions include improving  nutrition of pregnant and breastfeeding women, while  encouraging exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, then continued breastfeeding up to two years. 

In Rwanda, 85 per cent women exclusively breast-feed newborns (first six months), according to Super Food for Babies, a recent Save the Children report. 

Alexis Mucumbitsi, of the nutrition desk at the Ministry of Health, said healthcare staff and community health workers are trained in nutrition policy. 

They, in turn, educate pregnant women about the benefits of breast-feeding and how to maintain lactation, thus fighting social-cultural constraints to breast-feeding.

The chellenges 

However, although mothers are supposed to breast-feed their children for six months, in Rwanda they are only given six weeks for maternity leave, which impacts on exclusive breast-feeding. 

Dr Francesco Branca, the WHO director nutrition for health and development, said they are increasingly finding overweight children living in countries where under nutrition is also still an issue. 

"While it is vital to maintain efforts to reduce under nutrition, the world needs to do much more to prevent and care for the growing numbers of people that are overweight or obese and living in low- and middle-income countries,” Dr Branca said.

"Policymakers urgently need to give more attention to improving the nutritional status of pregnant women and adolescent girls who will become mothers of the next generation to avoid a massive explosion of nutrition problems in the next generation.” 

An estimated 35 per cent of deaths among children under five are associated with under-nutrition and 43 million children under five are overweight or obese.

More than 100 million children under five year also are underweight, while 165 million are stunted worldwide. 

In Rwanda, the 2010 Demographic Health Survey (DHS) results estimated that about 44 per cent of children under five show cases of malnutrition.  

The 2010 DHS also indicates that there are 6 per cent of infants with low birth weight (2006-2010) and 11 per cent of under-fives suffering from moderate and severe underweight.

 There are many policies in the country implemented to combat malnutrition, which include kitchen gardens, and One-Cow-Per-Family project, among others.