What is wasting?

A child with wasting is too thin for its height. Wasting is the result of recent and severe weight loss, usually because a child eats too little and is ill at the same time, for example with diarrhoea. In 2024, 42.8 million children under five were wasted worldwide. For 12.2 million of them the wasting was severe.

How is wasting measured?

A child has wasting when its weight for height is more than two standard deviations below the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards. Below three standard deviations is called severe wasting. In the field, health workers often measure the mid-upper arm circumference with a coloured tape. Swelling of both feet (nutritional oedema) is also a sign of severe acute malnutrition.

Causes of wasting

  • Too little food, or food with too little energy and protein, for example after a failed harvest, during a drought or in a crisis.
  • Infections such as diarrhoea, measles and malaria, which reduce appetite and increase the need for nutrients.
  • Unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene.
  • Too little breastfeeding and poor complementary feeding in the first two years of life.

Why wasting is dangerous

Wasting weakens the immune system. Infections become more severe, last longer and come back more often. A child with severe wasting has a much higher risk of dying. Wasting and stunting often go together: a child who is wasted again and again is also more likely to become stunted.

Treatment and prevention

Severe wasting is a medical emergency. A child with severe wasting needs treatment by trained health workers, often with special therapeutic food. Prevention starts much earlier:

  • Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and continued breastfeeding up to two years or longer.
  • Varied and energy dense meals for young children, several times a day.
  • Clean drinking water, handwashing and toilets to prevent diarrhoea.
  • Vaccination, and quick treatment of diarrhoea with oral rehydration salts and zinc.
  • Regular growth monitoring, so weight loss is spotted early.

The role of local, plant-based food

Young children have small stomachs. They need meals that contain a lot of energy and protein in a small portion. Groundnut paste, sesame, a little oil, beans and lentils, and porridge made from grains mixed with legume flour all help. Dark green leafy vegetables and fruit add vitamins and minerals. For young children on a mostly plant-based diet, energy density, iron, zinc and vitamin B12 need extra attention.

What Green Food Foundation does

We work with local NGOs in Nepal, Uganda, Kenya, India and Tanzania. Through train the trainer programmes we teach health workers and mother groups how to prepare nutritious meals with local products, and we help set up vegetable gardens. Read more about how we work or support our work against malnutrition.

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