Determinants of Double Burden of Malnutrition in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is developing not only in economy but also in agriculture, food processing, educational and other demographic sectors. People are getting food easily and consuming more foods, which is increasing the prevalence of overweight and obesity than the previous years. With the pace of this increment rate of overweight and obesity, Bangladesh has not been able to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition among children that much. In such situation, the country is facing double burden of malnutrition (DBM). If the DBM is increasing at this rate, the rate of child mortality for malnutrition and maternal mortality for non-communicable diseases will increase too. When it will be possible to reduce the child malnutrition and maternal obesity simultaneously, the prevalence of DBM will be reduced eventually. Previously, some studies have been conducted on the prevalence of DBM which were limited on community or regional level. This is the first nationwide study for the prevalence of DBM at household level as a whole in Bangladesh. So, the results and policies from this study will help the Government and the policy makers to achieve SDG - 2 & 3 by reducing the prevalence of DBM within 2030.