One in 13 children, or 50 million children under five, is estimated to be wasted. South-Central Asia has the highest prevalence of wasting (14.2 percent) and also the highest numbers of children affected (34.3 million).
This regional pattern is the same for severe wasting, which is often the criterion for admission to therapeutic feeding interventions. The prevalence of severe wasting in developing countries is 2.4 percent, or 16 million children.
Children who are wasted need immediate attention. Prevalence of wasting may be high in specific seasons (e.g., the diarrhea season) or in periods of food insecurity. Where there is a strong correlation between child wasting and maternal nutritional status, wasting is likely related to food insecurity rather than disease.
(Children who are severely wasted suffer from severe acute malnutrition, or SAM, which is discussed under Identifying Acute Malnutrition.)
(Sources: Black et al. 2013; EC-FAO Programme on Linking Information and Decision Making to Improve Food Security 2007; UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Group 2015)