Wasting

In medicine, wasting, also known as wasting syndrome, is the process by which a debilitating disease causes muscle and fat tissue to waste away. It is sometimes called acute malnutrition because episodes of wasting are believed to have a short duration, in contrast to stunting, which is regarded as chronic malnutrition. An estimated 45 million children under five were wasted in 2021, with global wasting prevalence declining from 7.5 percent in 2012 to 6.8 percent in 2022 and projected to reach 6.2 percent by 2030, more than double the Sustainable Development Goals target of 3 percent; prevalence is highest in Southern Asia, followed by Oceania and South-Eastern Asia.