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Epidemiological and nutritional transition in low- and middle-income countries


 
 
 In the last decades, the number of deaths from non-communicable diseases in developing countries has risen to those observed in developed countries.
 
 
 
 Nutritional research in developing countries has primarily focused on under-nutrition, particularly among vulnerable population subgroups such as women and children. However, while economic growth has a significant social impact at population level, there is suggestive evidence of an ongoing nutritional transition leading to concurrent under- and over-nutrition in the population.
 
 
 
 The ongoing nutritional transition in these settings has been mostly linked to the rapid process of urbanisation and westernization. Data from several developing countries suggest that improvements in developmental indicators is accompanied by higher availability of highly processed poorly nutritious foods. Regarding socioeconomic factors, results demonstrated that better education and better living standards were associated with higher odds of overweight/obesity after adjusting for confounders, including urban vs. rural setting. This is likely a consequence of the ongoing nutritional and epidemiological transition occurring in these settings. In fact, developing countries have not yet reached the same phase of nutritional transition as an economically affluent country, and while high-calorie diets comprising fast-food are the more economically affordable option in the latter, such diets are still reserved for the more affluent individuals in some developing countries, where economic growth has only just begun to allow affluent individuals to afford fast-food.
 
 
 
 Understanding the underlying ecological and socioeconomic roots of both extremes of the nutritional status is vital to design successful public health interventions.
