Urbanicity, Poverty, and the Double Burden of Malnutrition in Low and Middle Income Countries

Nan M. Astone, Urban Institute

In this paper we focus on overweight and underweight—both major risk factors for non-communicable disease--among adolescents and young adults in 42 countries. We find that among adolescents and young adults, the double burden of malnutrition in LMICs is concentrated among the urban poor. Outside Sub-Saharan Africa, underweight is also concentrated among the urban poor. Overweight is highest among the urban non-poor worldwide. These results suggest that nutrition policy and programming needs to be formulated differently in rural and urban contexts in order to decrease the risk for non-communicable disease in years to come. The findings also call attention to risks associated with urban poverty in LMICs for adolescents and young adults.