Reduction in stunting : but wasting, obesity are concerns : Report
According to the Joint child malnutrition estimates released by UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank, In line with global and regional trends, stunting has declined in India, recording 1.6 million fewer stunted children under the age of five in 2022 than in 2012. However, low weight and rising obesity levels still remain a matter of concern.
- Stunting among children under the age of five in India is set to fall from 41.6% in 2012 to 31.7% in 2022, reducing the number from 5.2 million to 3.6 million.
- With this, India’s share in the global figure of stunting in children decreased from 30% to 25% in the last decade.
- The overall prevalence of frailty in 2022 was 18.7% in India, with a share of 49% of the global incidence.
- The prevalence of obesity increased marginally over a decade from 2.2% in 2012 to 2.8% in 2022, increasing from 27.5 lakh to 31.8 lakh, giving India a global share of 8.8%.
- There was no improvement on the weight issue worldwide, as its prevalence rate increased from 5.5% to 5.6%.
- Joint child malnutrition estimates report has made insufficient progress to reach the 2025 World Health Organization global nutrition goals and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal-2 goals. Also only a third of all countries are ‘on track’ to halve the number of children afflicted.
According to NFHS:
- The decline in stunting in India is commensurate with National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 (2019-2021) data which estimated its prevalence at 35.5% as compared to 38% in NFHS-4 (2016) and 48% in NFHS-3 (2006).
3 Key symptoms of malnutrition according to UNICEF and WB
- Stunting – If the height of a child remains less in proportion to its age, then it is called dwarfism.
- Wasting – If a child’s BMI is low in proportion to his height, then it is called a condition of wasting.
- Underweight – Children with low weight in proportion to their age are called ‘underweight’.
Current initiatives of the government to deal with malnutrition-
- National Nutrition Mission
- Anemia Free India Campaign
- Mid-day Meal (MDM) Scheme
- National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013
- Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme
Source – The Hindu
