Urgent warning: Nutrition crisis among South Asian girls worsens
A collection of research has identified intergenerational undernourishment, digital gaps, and gender and class disparities worsening nutrition outcomes in South Asia. UNICEF points to challenges faced by 172 million adolescent girls in the region, highlighting policy issues and data gaps that prevent effective interventions.
Adolescent girls, aged 10–19, are the largest cohort across global regions, highlights the humanitarian aid organization. However, one out of ten suffers from anemia and is either obese or underweight, while one in four is micronutrient deficient in iron, folate, vitamin D, and zinc.
The researchers recommend solutions: identify and fix any data gaps, enhance the legal foundations for environments that promote healthy eating, and next analyze system bottlenecks with decision-makers to uncover inequalities.
UNICEF study details
UNICEF researchers identified 12 nutrition interventions and saw “none of the eight countries had policies for all 12 interventions, but five countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) had both policies and programs to deliver at least six interventions countrywide.”
South Asia encompasses Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The 12 interventions include healthy school meals, vitamin and mineral supplements, and treatments for parasitic infections. Further points are education on nutrition and healthy habits, such as rules on food ads, labels, and taxes to discourage unhealthy eating.
Regular health check-ups along with extra support for women and girls who are mothers, underweight, or have anemia are additional interventions.
Malnutrition rates vary between and within countries, with poorer girls experiencing twice the prevalence of short stature compared to wealthier peers.
Only 40% of adolescent girls consume iron-rich foods weekly, and exposure to junk food marketing remains unchecked in most countries.
No South Asian country fully implements the 12 recommended nutrition interventions, and most lack comprehensive policies.UNICEF warns that progress in nutrition interventions is hindered by inconsistent monitoring, lack of standardized data, limited social protection programs, missed out-of-school girls, and weak food industry regulation.
The UNICEF study was conducted between January 2023 and February 2025 and includes insights from 28 national reports and international research.
Gender and class disparities
A recent collection published in The BMJ shows how adolescent nutrition in South Asia is under-prioritized due to gender disparities.
The research by UNICEF and Deakin University in Australia finds that Bangladesh’s obesity rate, undernutrition, and anemia are linked to gender, class, dietary changes, and limited mobility among adolescent girls. In Afghanistan, girls’ access to education has been formally restricted for the last two and a half years.
“The global evidence on effective interventions to meet adolescent nutritional needs is strong and underscores the importance of addressing social determinants and entrenched gender inequities, as well as direct nutrition interventions through appropriate supplementation and fortification strategies,” detail the authors.
Researchers urge a multi-sectoral strategy involving school-based programs, community health services, and social protection measures.
They also see regulatory food frameworks rising next to exposure to “inappropriate marketing of ultra-processed foods” as emerging fast in developing economies, placing adolescents at risk. Adolescent health and nutrition services must be safeguarded from unregulated private sector influences and marketing strategies, including banning mobile phone use in schools.
One in four adolescent girls in South Asia lacks essential micronutrients such as iron and folate, while facing both obesity and underweight.They urge: “Programs must move beyond treating the condition to also address the root causes of malnutrition, which include harmful gender and social norms.” Nutrition Insight previously learned from experts that understanding the political causes of malnutrition gives tools to address it sustainably.
Intergenerational cycle of undernourishment
Despite regional efforts to improve and provide nutritional care and support for at-risk adolescent mothers, research in the journal BMJ blames systemic barriers to policy and programs from taking effect.
“The region [South Asia] is the global epicenter of undernourishment, with 65% of the world’s underweight adolescent girls (15–19 years) and 41% of the world’s anemic women and adolescent girls (15–49 years).”
“These issues have far-reaching consequences: Underweight and anemic adolescent girls are more likely to drop out of school, complete fewer years of schooling, and earn less than their well-nourished peers. If married, they are more likely to experience early pregnancy and to give birth to an undernourished baby, perpetuating an intergenerational cycle of undernourishment.”
The authors warn that intergenerational nutritional risks pose a challenge to sustainable development goal 2.2, which aims to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030.
Digital gap shapes nutrition outcomes
Separate research in the BMJ reveals that South Asia has the world’s largest gender gap in mobile internet access. “Adolescent boys are 1.5 times more likely than girls to own a mobile phone and nearly twice as likely to own a smartphone.”
Boys are nearly twice as likely to own smartphones, which limits girls’ access to essential health and nutrition information.Researchers connect this gap to nutritional and health inequities.
Internet access shapes adolescent access to health information. The researchers also flag patriarchal norms contribute to South Asian adolescent girls’ exclusion from food and nutrition decision-making.
“Digital technologies offer a scalable, cost-effective way to support nutritional health among adolescent girls in South Asia, particularly those in rural and remote areas, those married young, or those facing gender barriers to accessing schools and community events,” they stress.
They suggest a multi-sectoral collaboration on policies to address gender barriers to digital access and literacy. Plus, involving adolescent girls in digital interventions and challenging societal norms is important.
“Unless the digital gender gap is closed, adolescent girls in South Asia will continue to face barriers to realizing their right to equitable nutrition and health. This issue is not just about technology but about supporting a generation of girls to overcome systemic inequities and claim their rights,” stress the researchers.
Nutrition Insight recently spoke with experts at UNICEF South Asia, who told us girls in these countries face a dual burden of malnutrition and rising obesity, which are driven by gender norms, weak food regulations, and the unchecked influence of food advertising.
