700 million children around the world victims of either undernourishment or obesity, including India

A new UNICEF report says that a third of the world's population of children under five years of age are undernourished or overweight, and the picture does not look too good for India.

Nearly 50 per cent of children under five years of age in India are not growing well.

This means that they are either undernourished or overweight and will face lifelong health problems as a consequence of it.

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These problems — which once existed at opposite ends of the wealth spectrum — have today converged in poor and middle-income countries, especially South Asia.

Over the last three decades, another form of child malnutrition that has surged across the developing world is excess weight.

The problem was virtually non-existent in countries such as India 30 years ago

But today at least 10 per cent of children under five are overweight or obese.

'Hidden hunger' is another factor that contributes to the poor health of students around the world.

Every one out of two children in the world continues to suffer from the phenomenon of hidden hunger.

The domination of fast food and the missing vitamins and minerals have now led to compromised immune systems, poor sight and hearing defects.

The triple burden of malnutrition — undernutrition, hidden hunger and overweight — threatens the survival and development of children all over the world.

As eating habits continue to deteriorate with children being on the front line of the problem, making sure every child has access to a healthy diet must become a "political priority" if widespread malnutrition is to be conquered.