Nutrition Transition

Nutrition transition is the population-level shift from traditional diets and physically active lifestyles towards energy-dense diets and lower physical activity. It changes diet-related disease patterns by increasing overweight and non-communicable diseases, often before undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies have disappeared.

How the transition occurs

Economic growth, urbanisation, changing work patterns and food-system transformation alter both food consumption and energy expenditure.

• Traditional foods are increasingly displaced by energy-dense, highly processed foods containing excessive fat, sugar or salt.
• Mechanisation, motorised transport and sedentary occupations reduce physical activity, promoting a sustained energy imbalance.
• The transition is socially uneven because income, location, food prices and access to diverse diets shape household choices.

Changes in the disease burden

The transition does not merely replace one set of diseases with another; it changes their relative importance and creates overlapping risks.

• Greater energy intake relative to expenditure raises overweight and obesity, which increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
• High salt intake contributes to hypertension, while diets high in unhealthy fats and refined carbohydrates worsen metabolic and cardiovascular risk.
• Low dietary diversity can preserve micronutrient deficiencies even where calorie intake is adequate or excessive.
• Undernutrition may persist among children and disadvantaged groups, continuing to impair growth, immunity and development.

The resulting double burden

A population can therefore face a double burden of malnutrition: undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies coexist with overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases. This coexistence may occur across communities, within households, or over an individual's life course.

• Health policy must combine maternal and child nutrition measures with prevention of non-communicable diseases.
• The appropriate response includes diversified diets, healthier food environments, nutrition literacy, physical activity and accessible primary healthcare.