Economic access to healthy diets remains a critical issue, affecting over one-third of the population in the Arab region. In 2022, new food price data and methodological improvements revealed that 151.3 million people could not afford a healthy diet. Conflict-affected countries experienced the highest rates, with 41.2 percent of their populations struggling to afford a healthy diet.

The report highlights the continued suffering of the Arab region from the triple burden of malnutrition, including rising trends in child and adult obesity, wasting, and nutrient deficiencies such as anaemia among women.

Although progress has been made in decreasing stunting rates from 28.0 percent in 2000 to 19.9 percent in 2022, achieving nutrition targets in the Arab region remains a challenge. The prevalence of wasting in children also exceeded the global average, with low-income countries experiencing the highest rates at 14.6 percent.

In 2022, 9.5 percent of children under five years were overweight, nearly double the global average. This marks an 8 percent increase since 2000, with the highest rates observed in Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt.

According to the report, the prevalence of anaemia among women aged 15 to 49 stood at 33.2 percent in 2019, higher than the global average, with the highest rates in low-income countries at 43.9 percent.

Despite some improvements, adult obesity rates in the Arab States remain alarmingly high, with a prevalence of 32.1 percent in 2022, more than double the global rate. Upper-middle-income countries had the highest rates at 33.8 percent, with Egypt, Qatar, and Kuwait leading in country-specific obesity rates.