Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Sep 22: In a shift that challenges conventional thinking, health experts are sounding the alarm on a growing paradox: undernutrition, often associated with thinness and stunted growth, is now increasingly linked to rising rates of obesity and diabetes — especially in developing nations like India.
According to UNICEF, the global landscape of childhood malnutrition has dramatically transformed, with obesity among school-age children and adolescents surpassing underweight for the first time as of 2025. This reversal not only threatens the health of individuals but also undermines long-term social and economic development across communities and countries.
Experts attribute this trend to unhealthy food environments that encourage the consumption of cheap, high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods. Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Chairman of the Scientific Committee at IMA Cochin, explained that many low-income families, lacking both awareness and options, turn to processed snacks, sugary beverages, and deep-fried foods that are aggressively marketed and widely available. These choices may fill stomachs but fail to provide the necessary nutrients, laying the groundwork for obesity and metabolic disease.
Even more concerning is the intergenerational impact. Undernourished mothers are more likely to give birth to children predisposed to obesity and diabetes later in life, especially as they transition to food-rich environments. A recent study published in Cell Metabolism used a rat model to replicate this trend, demonstrating that decades of undernutrition can lead to irreversible metabolic and epigenetic changes, including elevated insulin levels and vitamin deficiencies, even after improved diets are introduced in subsequent generations.
Dr. Sanjeev Galande, Dean at Shiv Nadar University and a co-author of the study, pointed to the “double burden of malnutrition” as a key explanation for this phenomenon in India. He noted that early-life undernutrition primes the body to store fat efficiently while reducing muscle mass — adaptations that become harmful when combined with modern, sedentary lifestyles and energy-dense diets. This metabolic programming increases susceptibility to non-communicable diseases like type 2 diabetes.
Experts also highlighted the role of lifestyle factors such as physical inactivity, smoking, and alcohol use in exacerbating the problem. The combination of poor diet and lack of exercise further fuels the obesity-diabetes epidemic, creating a vicious cycle.
In response, the medical community is calling for urgent policy measures to make nutritious food more affordable and accessible, while also curbing the marketing of unhealthy food and drink — particularly to vulnerable populations. As India and other developing nations confront this evolving crisis, the focus must shift from simply addressing hunger to ensuring true nutritional security for all.