South East Asian Nutrition Surveys II: Examining nutritional status, growth, and physical activity of children in Southeast Asia

The prevention of stunting and micronutrient deficiencies, control of overweight/ obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseasesare in the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals and in all nutrition strategies in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, progress has notalways been significant and there is an urgency to understand and plan programs for improvement and impact at national and globallevel. However, the lack of comprehensive data in children is a barrier that prevents solutions and strategies to effectively address thedual burden of malnutrition and hidden hunger.

The South East Asian Nutrition Surveys II (SEANUTS II) builds on the work, experience, and findings gained from SEANUTS I in 2010-2011.Relatively high prevalence of stunting, overweight/ obesity iron deficiency anaemia and vitamin D insufficiency were found in theparticipating countries, sometimes with large differences across population groups. SEANUTS II is a multi-country collaboration withresearch institutes from four South East Asian countries - Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.