Supplementary Material for: Africa in Transition: Growth Trends in Children and Implications for Nutrition

The aims of this paper were to: (1) review the literature and examine contemporary child growth in terms of stunting prevalence across Africa; (2) discuss child stunting within the context of economic growth and adult obesity, and (3) elucidate the implications for child nutrition. It is evident that stunting in under-5-year-old children still plagues Africa and has not decreased as expected in line with the concomitant improvement in economic development over the past decade. Persisting and possibly widening inequality ensures that not all segments of the population, in particular the most vulnerable, benefit equally from economic growth. Of concern is the association between the increasing economic progress across Africa and the rising adult obesity, especially amongst females. More and more African countries are now afflicted with a double burden of malnutrition. The implication for child nutrition is that African countries need not only apply a multisectoral approach to accelerate the reduction in stunting levels, but also to arrest and prevent obesity.

本研究的目的在于：（1）梳理相关学术文献，并基于非洲地区儿童发育迟缓（stunting）的患病率，探析当代儿童生长发育现状；（2）结合经济增长与成人肥胖（adult obesity）的背景，探讨儿童发育迟缓问题；（3）阐明其对儿童营养领域的影响。显而易见，过去十年间，尽管非洲经济发展同步提升，但5岁以下儿童的发育迟缓问题仍持续困扰该地区，且未如预期般得到改善。持续存在甚至可能加剧的不平等现象，导致并非所有人口群体——尤其是最脆弱的群体——都能平等享受到经济增长带来的红利。值得警惕的是，非洲地区日益提升的经济发展水平与成人肥胖率攀升之间存在关联，这一现象在女性群体中尤为突出。如今，越来越多的非洲国家正面临营养不良双重负担（double burden of malnutrition）的困扰。这对于儿童营养工作的启示在于：非洲各国不仅需采取多部门协作模式，以加快降低儿童发育迟缓的患病率，同时还需遏制并预防肥胖问题的蔓延。