Abstract
The idea of nutrition transition was critical to conceptualizing patterns of the global burden of malnutrition in line with demographic and epidemiological transitions of the 20th century. However, earlier typologies are less reflective of the nuances which characterize today’s nutrition reality. This analysis presents a new paradigm for conceptualizing nutrition transition that better aligns with food system transitions and with evolving population dynamics. Examining seven nutrition indicators (under-5 stunting, wasting and overweight, adult overweight, anemia in women of reproductive age, adult diabetes and adult raised blood pressure) with national-level estimates between 2013-2023, we explore how food system typologies cluster across 108 countries and identify three distinct population-level patterns which describe a triple burden of malnutrition that manifests differently across the globe. The findings suggest that while Cluster 1 encompasses a large proportion of less industrialized countries from a food systems perspective, Clusters 2 and 3 represent a mosaic of typologies experiencing similar nutrition burdens in middle- and higher-income nations. Therefore, the forces shaping global and local food systems are dynamic and interactive, resulting in outcomes that are less linear and distinct than previous concepts allowed for.