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Global Nutrition Report 2017 – Nourishing the SDGs

Global Nutrition Report 2017 – Nourishing the SDGs

On the first day of the SUNGG17, the African launch of the Global Nutrition Report 2017 (GNR2017) took place, demonstrating nutrition’s importance as a catalyst for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The GNR2017 found that overweight and obesity are on the rise in almost every country, with…

November 27, 2017 - Last update: February 10, 2023

On the first day of the SUNGG17, the African launch of the Global Nutrition Report 2017 (GNR2017) took place, demonstrating nutrition’s importance as a catalyst for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The GNR2017 found that overweight and obesity are on the rise in almost every country, with 2 billion of the world’s 7 billion people now overweight or obese and a less than 1 per cent chance of meeting the global target of halting the rise in obesity and diabetes by 2025.

The Global Nutrition Report 2017 calls for nutrition to be placed at the heart of efforts to end poverty, fight disease, raise educational standards and tackle climate change. “We know that a well-nourished child is one third more likely to escape poverty,” said Jessica Fanzo, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food and Agriculture Policy & Ethics at Johns Hopkins University and Global Nutrition Report CoChair. “They will learn better in school, be healthier and grow into productive contributors to their economies. Good nutrition provides the brainpower, the ‘grey matter infrastructure’ to build the economies of the future.”

The report found that overweight and obesity are on the rise in almost every country, with 2 billion of the world’s 7 billion people now overweight or obese and a less than 1 per cent chance of meeting the global target of halting the rise in obesity and diabetes by 2025.

  • At least 41 million children under five are overweight, with the problem affecting high and lower income countries alike
  • At least 10 million children in Africa are now classified as overweight
  • One third of North American men (33%) and women (34%) are obese

Rates of undernutrition in children are decreasing, the report said, with recent gains in some countries. But global progress is not fast enough to meet internationally agreed nutrition goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 2.2 to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030.

  • 155 million under-fives are stunted; Africa is the only region where absolute numbers are rising, due to population growth
  • 52 million children worldwide are defined as wasted, meaning they do not weigh enough for their height.

 

• Download the Global Nutrition Report 2017: English
• Global Nutrition Report 2017 Presentation: English

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