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TL;DR
It concludes that gender norms and structural inequalities are associated with disparities in malnutrition prevalence and worse health outcomes for both men and women.
Frontiers in Nutrition · 7 authors, 4 centres
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It concludes that gender norms and structural inequalities are associated with disparities in malnutrition prevalence and worse health outcomes for both men and women.
It describes the region's double burden of malnutrition, where some countries face high undernutrition and others face high obesity, with 53% of women and 45% of men classified as obese. The review posits that gender is a key determinant of health, shaped by biological and social factors, and that gender inequality influences exposure to cultural norms, vulnerabilities, and health system gaps. Health outcomes discussed include iron deficiency contributing to maternal deaths, maternal malnutrition linked to low birth weight and child growth retardation, and obesity increasing the risk of chronic diseases, with differential impacts such as obese women having a higher likelihood of diabetes than obese men. The central conclusion is that addressing malnutrition requires a gender-sensitive, intersectoral approach to tackle associated health inequalities.