Double burden of malnutrition in India - Undernutrition and overnutritionIntroductionThe double nutritional burden, encompassing both undernutrition (stunting, underweight and wasting) and overnutrition (overweight and obesity), has become a significant public health challenge in many developing countries. Globally, an estimated 99 million children under the age of five were underweight in 2012, with low- and middle-income countries in Asia accounting for more than 70 percent of these undernourished children ( WHO, 2012a). Although many developing countries have managed to significantly reduce the prevalence of undernutrition over the past two decades, the pace of decline has been slow and insufficient to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (UN, 2012). Another emerging issue regarding the nutritional burden in many developing countries is: overnutrition. This recent problem may not only mean that the proportion of overweight people is increasingly increasing in these countries, but also that its socio-economic impacts are likely to be felt more severely than in developed countries (Schmidhuber et al., 2005 ). This could be because many developing countries do not have an adequate health care system and health workforce capable of helping to prevent and resolve overnutrition problems. This may also be due to undernutrition issues that remain unresolved in these countries, as they can still combat issues related to nutritional deficiencies and infectious diseases with limited budget and health capacity. Previous studies have shown that a rapid transition in dietary habits in many developing countries results in the coexistence of underweight and overweight people within the same country (Clydette et al. , 2007). The nutritional transition... middle of article...... association for the study of obesity. 10(4), pp. 456-474 World Bank, 2005. Undernourished children in India: a call for reform and action. Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/223546-1147272668285/IndiaUndernourishedChildrenFinal.pdf [Accessed January 5, 2014] World Health Organization, 2012a. Regional nutrition strategy: combat malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies (2011-2015). Available at: http://apps.searo.who.int/PDS_DOCS/B4819.pdf [Accessed December 27, 2013] World Health Organization, 2012b. WHO Country Cooperation Strategy for India 2012-2017. Available at: http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccs_ind_en.pdf [Accessed January 3, 2014] World Health Organization, 2013. World health statistics 2013. Available at: http://apps.who .int/iris/bitstream/10665/81965/1/9789241564588_eng.pdf [Accessed January 5 2014]