A/71/282 obese by 2025. 13 Economic and cultural factors contribute to childhood obesity. Energy-dense foods are often more affordable and aggressively marketed towards children, while some cultures may associate higher weights in children with being healthy. 15. There are significant differences in malnutrition rates between countries. In 2014 almost all wasted children lived in Asia and Africa, while stunting affected predominantly Asia, as well as Africa. In 2013, it was estimated that close to 31 million overweight children lived in developing countries. 14 3. Importance of breastfeeding 16. Breastfeeding is a powerful influence on child survival and development and prevention of child malnutrition. It provides optimal nutrition for young infants, reducing the incidence and severity of infectious diseases and contributing to obesity prevention. Breastfed babies are protected from illnesses through the mother’s antibodies, while those who are not are exposed to increased chances of malnutrition, non-communicable diseases and suboptimal cognitive development. In addition, infant formula and other breast milk substitutes can cause poor growth or illness if water quality and hygiene standards are not met. 17. WHO recommends breastfeeding within one hour of birth and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. Nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods should be introduced at 6 months of age, together with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or b eyond. Yet only about 36 per cent of infants between 0 and 6 months old are exclusively breastfed. 15 In high-income countries, fewer than one in five infants are breastfed for 12 months, and only two out of three children between 6 months and 2 years of age receive breast milk in low- and middle-income countries. These rates have not improved in two decades. 16 In addition, few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods. A total of 823,000 children’s lives could be saved yearly if all children between 0 and 23 months were optimally breastfed. 17 One of the major obstacles to breastfeeding is the misleading marketing by baby food companies of breast milk substitutes and the lack of corporate accountability for the adverse consequences of such abuses. II. Underlying factors of malnutrition A. Economic and social determinants 18. In the Rome Declaration on Nutrition, adopted in 2014, States recognized that the root causes of malnutrition were complex and multidimensional. They includ e __________________ 13 14 15 16 17 6/24 WHO, “Facts and figures on childhood obesity”, October 2014, available from www.who.int/ end-childhood-obesity/facts/en; WHO, “Obesity and overweight” (see footnote 5). WHO, “WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health: childhood overweight and obesity”. Available from www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/en. WHO, “Infant and young child feeding”, fact sheet No. 342, January 2016. WHO, “Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health: increasing breastfeeding could save 800,000 children and US$ 300 billion every year”, January 2016. Available from www.who.int/ maternal_child_adolescent/news_events/news/2016/exclusive -breastfeeding/en. “Breastfeeding: achieving the new normal”, The Lancet, vol. 387, No. 10017 (January 2016). 16-13441