One in Five Sri Lankan Schoolchildren Malnourished

COLOMBO (News 1st); One in every five schoolchildren is affected by malnutrition, according to the Health Promotion Bureau.

The warning was highlighted by Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Media, Specialist Dr. Anil Jasinghe, during a media briefing, where he pointed to deeper, long-term consequences of poor nutrition among children.

He emphasized that the country is currently dealing with a “triple burden of malnutrition”—a complex challenge involving undernutrition, overnutrition, and deficiencies in essential micronutrients, reflecting both poverty-related and lifestyle-related health risks.

“The triple burden of malnutrition means undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies. When we look at children. both below and above five years, global-level surveys show stunting at 10.1 percent, wasting at 8.1 percent, and underweight at 16.1 percent, while overweight remains at a very low level. This indicates that around one in five or one in six children is suffering from malnutrition,” he said.