Abstract for: Mapping food system drivers of the double burden of malnutrition: a case study in Peru

In Peru, the rapid nutrition transition over time has evidenced double burden of malnutrition (DBM) in the country consisting of the co-occurrence of undernutrition (e.g. stunting and anemia) and overnutrition (e.g. obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases). According to the World Health Organization, efforts to tackle the DBM must consider double duty actions that require working on common drivers for under- and over-nutrition simultaneously through different levels of action. Peruvian policy actions have primarily focused on addressing undernutrition, resulting in unintended consequences of amplifying overnutrition, particularly in urban areas. To develop contextually relevant and locally tailored double duty actions, there is a need for new approaches that investigate common drivers associated with over- and under-nutrition simultaneously and how they interact with each other in Peru. This paper reports on qualitative aspects of a community based system dynamics project in two regions of Peru to capture stakeholder perspectives of food system drivers of the DBM. It reflects on the processes and requirements for engaging a newly convened, multi-national and transdisciplinary team of researchers and modelers to apply a CBSD approach and shares practical methodological guidance on applying participatory systems approaches in public health.