Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40169590›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Double burden of malnutrition among under-five children in Eastern and Southern African countries.

Bereket Gebremichael, Admas Abera, Sibhatu Biadgilign, Kaleab Baye, Shao Jia Zhou, Demewoz Haile

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Bereket GebremichaelDepartment of Food and Nutrition, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, Adelaide, SA, 5064, Australia. bereketgebremichael.menota@adelaide.edu.au.
Admas AberaSchool of Public Health, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia.
Sibhatu BiadgilignIndependent Public Health Analyst and Research Consultant, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Kaleab BayeResearch Center for Inclusive Development in Africa (RIDA), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Shao Jia ZhouDepartment of Food and Nutrition, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, Adelaide, SA, 5064, Australia.
Demewoz HaileInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

There is limited evidence on the burden and drivers of the co-occurrence of overweight/obesity and undernutrition at the individual level in low- and middle-income countries. This gap hinders the design of double-duty actions (DDAs) that can effectively address all forms of malnutrition. This multi-country study aimed to determine the magnitude of double burden of malnutrition (DBM) among under five children and identify household and individual level determinants in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) countries. We pooled data of 79,394 children aged 6-59 months, collected from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in 12 ESA countries between 2013 and 2016. We identified confounders a priori. A random effect logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with the co-occurrence of Stunting and Overweight (StOw), Overweight and Anemia (OwA), and Stunting Overweight and Anemia (StOwA). The study revealed that the burden of co-occurrence of StOwA, StOw, and OwA among under-five children were 5.38%; 95% confidence interval (CI) (5.00-5.79), 4.04 (95% CI: 3.86-4.23), and 5.72% (95% CI: 5.40-6.04), respectively. South Africa had the highest burden of co-occurrence of StOwA (15.58%) and OwA (22.30%), while Namibia and Burundi had the lowest StOwA (2.19%) and OwA (2.78%), respectively. Male children were more likely than female children to experience co-occurrence of StOwA [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) (95% CI): 1.96 (1.49-2.57)], OwA [AOR = 1.51: (95% CI) (1.22, 1.86)], and StOw [AOR = 1.59: (95% CI) (1.36, 1.87)]. Children from the poorest and poorer households had higher odds of co-occurrence of StOwA, OwA, and StOw compared to those from the richest households. Compared to children born to mothers with normal body mass index, those born to mothers with overweight/obese had 60% and 39% higher risk, whereas those born to mothers who were underweight had 49% and 36% lower risk of StOw and OwA, respectively. The DBM among children poses a significant public health and economic problem in ESA countries. The DDAs approach should be strengthened in the ESA region to address all forms of malnutrition.

Indexed as

AnemiaChild Nutrition DisordersGrowth DisordersMalnutritionOverweightAfrica, EasternAfrica, SouthernChild, PreschoolCost of IllnessFemaleHumansInfantMalePrevalenceAnemiaDouble burden of malnutritionOverweightStuntingSub-saharan AfricaUnder-five children

Identifiers

PMID40169590
PMCPMC11961756

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.