Food-Based Dietary Guidelines–2022

Abstract

Unhealthy diets add to the burden of malnutrition and diet-related non-communicable diseases [2, 3], which are priority public health problems in low- and middle-income countries including Ethiopia [4–7]. According to the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey report, the prevalence of stunting (short height-for-age, 38%), underweight (low weight-for-age, 24%) and wasting (low weight-for-height, 10%) show the poor nutritional status of children under five [4]. The same report also indicated that 20% of women of reproductive age were underweight (body mass index [BMI] < 18.5 kilograms [kg]/metre [m]2 ) and 13% overweight (BMI > 25 kg/m2 ). This reveals that Ethiopia faces the triple burden of malnutrition, overweight and obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies [5–10].