Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Role of Food Security in Preventing the Rise of the Nutritional Double Burden in Low-Income Countries

  • Chapter
Preventive Nutrition

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Abstract

The seemingly intractable problems of undernourishment in low-income countries (LICs) are increasingly occurring alongside rapidly changing food and physical activity environments, the so-called nutrition transition, that is catalyzing an unprecedented increase in the prevalence of overweight and cardiometabolic disease in these countries. Food insecurity is a potentially important contributing factor to this emerging double burden of malnutrition. This chapter provides an overview of the emerging double burden of undernutrition and nutrition-related chronic disease in LICs, the conceptual linkages between food insecurity and this double burden, and the potential for nutrition-sensitive food security programs and policies to shape nutrition outcomes in LICs in the context of the nutrition transition. The chapter concludes with a set of five recommendations to strengthen the design and implementation of these programs and policies to improve nutrition through food security in LICs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Black RE, Victora CG, Walker SP, Bhutta ZA, Christian P, de Onis M, et al. Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet. 2013;382(9890):427–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Caulfield LE, de Onis M, Blossner M, Black RE. Undernutrition as an underlying cause of child deaths associated with diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, and measles. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;80(1):193–8.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Walker SP, Wachs TD, Grantham-McGregor S, Black MM, Nelson CA, Huffman SL, et al. Inequality in early childhood: risk and protective factors for early child development. Lancet. 2011;378(9799):1325–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Ravelli AC, van Der Meulen JH, Osmond C, Barker DJ, Bleker OP. Obesity at the age of 50 y in men and women exposed to famine prenatally. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;70(5):811–6.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Micronutrient Initiative. Investing in the future: a united call to action on vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Ottawa: Micronutrient Initiative; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  6. World Health Organization. Micronutrient deficiencies: iron deficiency anaemia. http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/ida/en/. Accessed 2 Dec 2013.

  7. Lozoff B. Iron deficiency and child development. Food Nutr Bull. 2007;28(4 Suppl):S560–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Allen LH. Biological mechanisms that might underlie iron’s effects on fetal growth and preterm birth. J Nutr. 2001;131(2s-2):581s–9s.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Popkin BM, Adair LS, Ng SW. Global nutrition transition and the pandemic of obesity in developing countries. Nutr Rev. 2012;70(1):3–21.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Murray CJL, Vos T, Lozano R, Naghavi M, Flaxman AD, Michaud C, et al. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012;380(9859):2197–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Fernald LC, Neufeld LM. Overweight with concurrent stunting in very young children from rural Mexico: prevalence and associated factors. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2007;61(5):623–32.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Steyn NP, Labadarios D, Maunder E, Nel J, Lombard C. Secondary anthropometric data analysis of the National Food Consumption Survey in South Africa: the double burden. Nutrition. 2005;21(1):4–13.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Doak CM, Adair LS, Bentley M, Monteiro C, Popkin BM. The dual burden household and the nutrition transition paradox. Int J Obes (Lond). 2005;29(1):129–36.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Corsi DJ, Finlay JE, Subramanian SV. Global burden of double malnutrition: has anyone seen it? PLoS One. 2011;6(9), e25120.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Food and Agriculture Organization. Rome declaration on world food security and world food summit plan of action. Rome: FAO; 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Barrett C. Measuring food insecurity. Science. 2010;327:825–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Food and Agriculture Organization. Food balance sheets: a handbook. Rome: FAO; 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Sen A. Poverty and famines: an essay on entitlement and deprivation. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Jones AD, Ngure FM, Pelto G, Young SL. What are we assessing when we measure food security? A compendium and review of current metrics. Adv Nutr. 2013;4(5):481–505.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Pinstrup-Andersen P. Food security: definition and measurement. Food Secur. 2009;1:5–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. UNICEF. Strategy for improved nutrition of children and women in developing countries. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Engle P, Menon P, Haddad L. Care and nutrition: concepts and measurement. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute; 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Bronfenbrenner U. The ecology of human development: experiments by nature and design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Jones A, Agudo YC, Galway L, Bentley J, Pinstrup-Andersen P. Heavy agricultural workloads and low crop diversity are strong barriers to improving child feeding practices in the Bolivian Andes. Soc Sci Med. 2012;75(9):1673–84.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Haddad L, Hoddinott J, Alderman H. Introduction: the scope of intrahousehold resource allocation issues. In: Haddad L, Hoddinott J, Alderman H, editors. Intrahousehold resource allocation in developing countries: models, methods and policy. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute; 1997. p. 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Khlangwiset P, Shephard GS, Wu F. Aflatoxins and growth impairment: a review. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2011;41(9):740–55.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Scrimshaw NS, SanGiovanni JP. Synergism of nutrition, infection, and immunity: an overview. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997;66(2):464S–77S.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Quisumbing AR, Brown L, Feldstein H, Haddad LJ, Pena C. Women: the key to food security. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute; 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Kennedy E, Cogill B. Income and nutritional effects of the commercialization of agriculture in Southwestern Kenya. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute; 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Webb P, Coates J, Frongillo EA, Rogers BL, Swindale A, Bilinsky P. Measuring household food insecurity: why it’s so important and yet so difficult to do. J Nutr. 2006;136:1404S–8S.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Jonsson U. The rise and fall of paradigms in world food and nutrition policy. World Nutr. 2010;1(3):128–58.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Bhutta ZA, Das JK, Rizvi A, Gaffey MF, Walker N, Horton S, et al. Evidence-based interventions for improvement of maternal and child nutrition: what can be done and at what cost? Lancet. 2013;382(9890):452–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Council on Foreign Relations. The emerging global health crisis: noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. New York: Council on Foreign Relations; 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Ruel MT, Alderman H. Nutrition-sensitive interventions and programmes: how can they help to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition? Lancet. 2013;382(9891):536–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Leroy J, Ruel M, Verhofstadt E. The impact of conditional cash transfer programmes on child nutrition: a review of evidence using a programme theory framework. J Dev Effectiveness. 2009;1(2):103–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Lagarde M, Haines A, Palmer N. Conditional cash transfers for improving uptake of health interventions in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. JAMA. 2007;298(16):1900–10.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Skoufias E, McClafferty B. Is PROGRESA working? Summary of the results of an evaluation by IFPRI. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute; 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Helen Keller International, Asian Vegetable and Research Development Centre. Home gardening in Bangladesh: evaluation report of the home gardening pilot project. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Helen Keller International and AVRDC; 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Helen Keller International. Helping families grow better food. http://www.hki.org/our-work/improving-nutrition/helping-families-grow-better-food-.VIhcI4tUFUQ. Accessed 10 Dec 2014.

  40. Bushamuka VN, de Pee S, Talukder A, Kiess L, Panagides D, Taher A, et al. Impact of a homestead gardening program on household food security and empowerment of women in Bangladesh. Food Nutr Bull. 2005;26(1):17–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Masset E, Haddad L, Cornelius A, Isaza-Castro J. Effectiveness of agricultural interventions that aim to improve nutritional status of children: systematic review. Br Med J. 2012;344:d8222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Bouis HE, Hotz C, McClafferty B, Meenakshi JV, Pfeiffer WH. Biofortification: a new tool to reduce micronutrient malnutrition. Food Nutr Bull. 2011;32(1 Suppl):S31–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Hotz C, Loechl C, Lubowa A, Tumwine JK, Ndeezi G, Masawi AN, Baingana R, Carriquiry A, de Brauw A, Meenakshi JV, Gilligan DO. Introduction of B-carotene-rich orange sweet potato in rural Uganda results in increased vitamin A intakes among children and women and improved vitamin a status among children. J Nutr. 2012;142(10):1871–80.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Haas JD, Finkelstein JL, Udipi SA, Ghugre P, Mehta S. Iron biofortified pearl millet improves iron status in Indian school children: results of a feeding trial. FASEB J. 2013;27:355.2.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Haas JD, Beard JL, Murray-Kolb LE, del Mundo AM, Felix A, Gregorio GB. Iron-biofortified rice improves the iron stores of nonanemic Filipino women. J Nutr. 2005;135(12):2823–30.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Pingali P. From subsistence to commercial production systems: the transformation of Asian agriculture. Am J Agric Econ. 1997;79(2):628–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Gong Y, Hounsa A, Egal S, Turner PC, Sutcliffe AE, Hall AJ, et al. Postweaning exposure to aflatoxin results in impaired child growth: a longitudinal study in Benin. West Afr Environ Health Perspect. 2004;112(13):1334–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Humphrey JH. Child undernutrition, tropical enteropathy, toilets, and handwashing. Lancet. 2009;374(9694):1032–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Gluckman PD, Hanson MA, Bateson P, Beedle AS, Law CM, Bhutta ZA, et al. Towards a new developmental synthesis: adaptive developmental plasticity and human disease. Lancet. 2009;373(9675):1654–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. McMillen IC, Robinson JS. Developmental origins of the metabolic syndrome: prediction, plasticity, and programming. Physiol Rev. 2005;85(2):571–633.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Fernald LCH, Gertler PJ, Hou X. Cash component of conditional cash transfer program is associated with higher body mass index and blood pressure in adults. J Nutr. 2008;138(11):2250–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Popkin BM, Part II. What is unique about the experience in lower-and middle-income less-industrialised countries compared with the very-highincome industrialised countries? Public Health Nutr. 2002;5(1a):205–14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Herforth A, Jones A, Pinstrup-Andersen P. Prioritizing nutrition in agriculture and rural development: guiding principles for operational investments. Washington, DC: World Bank; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Schaetzel T. Nutritional impact assessment tool. Washington, DC: USAID; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Gillespie S, Harris J, Kadiyala S. The agriculture-nutrition disconnect in India what do we know? Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  56. McGuire J, Popkin BM. Beating the zero sum game: women and nutrition in the third world. Part 1. Food Nutr Bull. 1989;11(4):38–63.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Jones AD, Shrinivas A, Bezner-Kerr R. Farm production diversity is associated with greater household dietary diversity in Malawi: findings from nationally representative data. Food Policy. 2014;46:1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Pinstrup-Andersen P. Nutrition-sensitive food systems: from rhetoric to action. Lancet. 2013;382(9890):375–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Monteiro CA, Levy RB, Claro RM, de Castro IR, Cannon G. Increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods and likely impact on human health: evidence from Brazil. Public Health Nutr. 2011;14(1):5–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Jones AD, Yosef S. The implications of a changing climate on global nutrition security. In: Sahn D, editor. New directions in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. New York: Oxford University Press; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  61. Smakhtin V, Revenga C, Doll P. A pilot global assessment of environmental water requirements and scarcity. Water Int. 2004;29(3):307–17.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Dobermann A, Nelson R. Opportunities and solutions for sustainable food production. Sustainable Development Solutions Network; 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Cohen B. Urbanization in developing countries: current trends, future projections, and key challenges for sustainability. Technol Soc. 2006;28(1–2):63–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Cohen B. Urban growth in developing countries: a review of current trends and a caution regarding existing forecasts. World Dev. 2004;32(1):23–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Ompad D, Galea S, Caiaffa W, Vlahov D. Social determinants of the health of urban populations: methodologic considerations. J Urban Health. 2007;84(1):42–53.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  66. Marshall F, Waldman L, MacGregor H, Mehta L, Randhawa P. On the edge of sustainability: perspectives on peri-urban dynamics. Brighton: STEPS Centre; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Drewnowski A, Specter SE. Poverty and obesity: the role of energy density and energy costs. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79(1):6–16.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Ruel MT, Garrett JL, Morris SS, Maxwell D, Oshaug A, Engle P, et al. Urban challenges to food and nutrition security: a review of food security, health, and caregiving in the cities. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute; 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  69. Pinstrup-Andersen P. Nutritional consequences of agricultural projects: conceptual relationships and assessment approaches. Washington, DC: World Bank; 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  70. World Health Organization. BMI classification. World Health Organization. http://apps.who.int/bmi/index.jsp?introPage=intro_3.html. Accessed 24 Apr 2014.

  71. World Health Organization. Haemoglobin concentrations for the diagnosis of anaemia and assessment of severity. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  72. WHO Growth Monitoring Reference Standards Group. WHO Child Growth Standards: growth velocity based on weight, length, and head circumference: methods and development. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 3846 SPH I, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Andrew D. Jones Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Andrew D. Jones Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew D. Jones Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Consultants in Consumer Healthcare, Morristown, New Jersey, USA

    Adrianne Bendich

  2. Columbia University Inst. Human Nutrition, New York, New York, USA

    Richard J. Deckelbaum

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jones, A.D. (2015). The Role of Food Security in Preventing the Rise of the Nutritional Double Burden in Low-Income Countries. In: Bendich, A., Deckelbaum, R. (eds) Preventive Nutrition. Nutrition and Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22431-2_37

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22431-2_37

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-22430-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-22431-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation