Addressing Childhood Malnutrition in Europe
Policy Approaches to Promote Healthy Eating in Young Children
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15714661 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sofjana Gushi (0000-0003-1550-452X, Hellenic Agency for Local Development and Local Government, corresponding author), Olga Chouliara (University of the Aegean), Paraskevi Apeiranthiti (0009-0001-1245-9711, University of the Aegean), Dimitra Panagiotidi (University of the Aegean), Grigoris Risvas (University of the Aegean), Stavros P Derdas (0000-0003-3725-3282, General Hospital of Athens G. Genimatas) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 213-213 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-31 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Children (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2227-9067 • E-ISSN: 2227-9067 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/children13020213 |
| PMID | 41749569 |
| OpenAlex | W7126442879 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 67 |
Childhood malnutrition remains a pressing public health challenge in Europe, where stunting, wasting, and underweight coexist with rising rates of childhood overweight and obesity. This policy review provides a strategic roadmap for promoting healthy nutrition in early childhood by synthesizing WHO and EU guidance and proposing coordinated action across three time horizons. Short-term goals (1-3 years) include harmonizing food-based dietary guidelines, implementing universal nutrition screening in pediatric care, and strengthening breastfeeding-supportive environments. Mid-term priorities (3-7 years) focus on fiscal levers, such as sugar taxes and healthy food subsidies; reformulating children's products; and embedding nutrition education within school curricula. Long-term strategies (7+ years) emphasize harmonized EU-wide monitoring systems, alignment of early-life nutrition with social protection policies, and sustained investment in research on the DOHaD. Through a unified, multisectoral strategy emphasizing early-life nutrition, equitable access to healthy foods, education, and robust regulation, Europe can effectively address the double burden of malnutrition and sustainably reduce childhood obesity
Action (physics · Childhood obesity · Early childhood · Healthy eating · Healthy food · Investment (military · Malnutrition · Public health · Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program · Underweight · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Nutrition, Health, and Society Studies · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
The double burden of malnutrition
Does social class predict diet quality?
Stigma Experienced by Children and Adolescents With Obesity
The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change
Revisiting maternal and child undernutrition in low-income and middle-income countries
Profits and pandemics
Obesity in children and adolescents
Childhood and Adolescent Obesity
Portugal’s voluntary food reformulation agreement and the WHO reformulation targets
Childhood Malnutrition
Social determinants of inequalities in child undernutrition in Bangladesh
The importance of school lunches to the overall dietary intake of children in Sweden
The role of child diets in the association between pre-pregnancy diets and childhood behavioural problems
Public perception of the tax on sweetened beverages in France
Epigenetics, ethics, law and society
The Food Marketing Defense Model
| Highly cited | No |
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