Research Series Issue 50: Rural transformation and the double burden of malnutrition among rural youth in developing countries

Adolescence and early adulthood are periods of major biological, economic and social transitions for rural youth. They provide a critical window of opportunity for addressing chronic nutritional deficits from childhood, for “catch-up” growth, for a solid foundation of a healthy productive and reproductive life and for arresting the inter-generational transmission of malnutrition.

In this study, we show that rural transformation processes are associated with improvements in rural youth nutrition – malnutrition and underweight – in nearly all regions, although the pace of change varies considerably across countries.