Global Double Burden to Local Realities: Nutritional Epidemiology of Food Insecurity, Growth Trajectories, and Cardiometabolic Risk

The field of nutritional epidemiology has become increasingly significant as the world faces the dual challenges of undernutrition and overweight/obesity, a phenomenon commonly described as the global double burden of malnutrition. This dual crisis is especially pronounced in low- and middle-income countries, where swiftly changing food environments, socioeconomic dynamics, and healthcare infrastructures intersect. Contemporary research underscores the intricate relationships among food insecurity, dietary quality, patterns of growth from infancy into adulthood, and later-life risk for cardiometabolic diseases. While major international studies have mapped broad trends and highlighted systemic disparities, growing attention is being paid to the need for locally grounded, context-sensitive studies that bridge the gap between population-level surveillance and effective, community-level interventions. Despite recent advances in measurement techniques and a proliferation of interventions, persistent gaps remain in translating these findings into scalable, equitable policy solutions, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.This Research Topic aims to deepen our understanding of how food insecurity and the double burden of malnutrition manifest in diverse local realities, shaping growth trajectories and the development of cardiometabolic risk across the life course. Central questions include: What methodological innovations can best capture the complexity of diet, growth, and health outcomes in heterogeneous settings? How do structural factors, such as food systems, conflict, climate, and policy, drive disparities in nutritional status and health? In what ways do early-life growth patterns and social environments interact to influence adult metabolic health? By synthesizing global and local perspectives, this Research Topic seeks to generate new evidence to inform interventions, measurement science, and equitable health policy.The scope of this Research Topic encompasses original research, methodological advances, systematic reviews, and perspectives that address the interplay between food insecurity, nutritional status, and cardiometabolic outcomes. Submissions may focus on any setting or population, but priority is given to research that aligns with the following key areas:- Theoretical frameworks and evolving definitions of the double burden of malnutrition, from global to subnational contexts-Life-course analyses connecting early nutrition, growth trajectories, and adult cardiometabolic risk- Advances in measurement and methodological approaches for diet, growth, and health outcomes, especially in resource-limited environments- Relationships among food insecurity, diet quality, mental health, and metabolic risk- The impact of contextual drivers such as food systems, climate change, conflict, urbanization, and migration- Effectiveness and implementation of integrated interventions addressing both undernutrition and overweight/obesity (“double-duty actions”)- Considerations of equity, ethics, and data justice in nutrition research, especially for marginalized and underrepresented populations- Context-specific case studies of special populations, including indigenous communities, refugees, and residents of informal settlements Topic editors: Michele Monroy-Valle, Ioanna Kontele Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77122/global-double-burden-to-local-realities-nutritional-epidemiology-of-food-insecurity-growth-trajectories-and-cardiometabolic-risk