Prevalence and Trends of Stunting Among Pre-school Children, 1990-2020

The objective of this study was to quantify the prevalence and trends of stunting among children using the WHO growth standards. 576 nationally representative surveys were analysed. Linear mixed-effects modelling was used to estimate rates and numbers of affected children from 1990-2010. In 2010 it is estimated that 171 million children (167 million in developing countries) were stunted. Stunting has stagnated in Africa since 1990 at about 40% and little improvement is anticipated. Asia showed a dramatic decrease from 49% in 1990 to 28% in 2010, nearly halving the number of stunted children from 190 million to 100 million. It is anticipated that this trend will continue and that in 2020, Asia and Africa will have similar numbers of stunted children. Despite an overall decrease in developing countries, stunting remains a major public health problem in many of them. The data summarizes progress achieved in the last two decades and identifies regions needing effective interventions.