Yes, you can be obese and undernourished, too

Obesity and overweight are “a staggering global burden” that should be classified as malnutrition, according to a new study.

The 2016 Global Nutrition Report found that 2 billion of the world’s 7 million people suffer from micronutrient malnutrition, which means they regularly don’t get enough essential vitamins and minerals in their diets. This includes people who are underweight because they don’t have access to enough food, but also includes people who are obese and just not eating the right foods.

"Malnutrition literally means bad nutrition — that's anyone who isn't adequately nourished,” researcher and professor Corinna Hawkes told the BBC. "You have outcomes like you are too thin, you're not growing fast enough … or it could mean that you're overweight or you have high blood sugar, which leads to diabetes.”

Nearly 800 million people suffer from calorie deficiency, the main symptom typically associated with malnutrition. But the report said it is important to recognize the definition of the word and the global nutrition crisis also includes those who are overweight.

Forty-four percent of countries surveyed have “very serious levels” of under-nutrition and obesity. In the study conducted in 129 nations around the world, a third of people are malnourished in some form. Of 5 billion adults worldwide, almost 2 billion are overweight or obese.

“The world is off course to meet global targets for nutrition,” the report said, as levels of malnutrition are rising in every region in the world and in almost every country. It emphasized the importance of education in nutrition choices, finding that women with secondary school educations are less likely to have malnourished children.

“We know a lot about which actions to take. The evidence is strong. Increasingly we know how to do it. Whether the problem is stunting or anemia or obesity, we know we have to work at multiple levels across multiple sectors,” the report said. “Ending malnutrition is ultimately a political choice that leaders from governments, donors, civil society organizations, and businesses at international, national and subnational levels need to take.”

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Yes, you can be obese and undernourished, too."