Obesity And Undernutrition The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and UNICEF between February 2016 and October 2018.
Key Findings Of Survey
- The first studies were undertaken to measure malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies through biochemical measures such as blood and urine samples, anthropometric data as well as details of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and kidney function in children and adolescents.
Double Burden of Malnutrition
- The survey shows that nearly 10% of children in the age group of 5-9 years and adolescents in the age group of 10-19 years are pre-diabetic, 5% are overweight and another 5% suffer from blood pressure.
- The number shows the coexistence of obesity and undernutrition, among school-going children.
- The National Family Health Survey (NFHS), however, collects anthropometric data (weight for age, height for age, weight for height, mid-upper arm circumference) to measure the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight and household dietary intake to measure deficiencies among these children group.
- The sample collected from children in the age group of 1-5 years and adults, but not for school going children between the age of 5 and 19 years.
- The study found the prevalence of indicators of non-communicable diseases alongside indicators of undernutrition shown by various NFHS surveys such as stunting, wasting and underweight.
- A quarter of 5-9 and 10-19 year-olds were thin for their age, one in five children 5-9 years’ old were stunted. A total of 1.12 lakh children and adolescents (0-19 years) were surveyed for height and weight measurements and 51,029 children (1-19 years) for biological samples.
What is Malnutrition?
- The double burden of malnutrition is characterized by the coexistence of undernutrition along with overweight and obesity, or diet-related noncommunicable diseases, within individuals, households, and populations, and across the life course.
Also read: The Malaise Of Malnutrition A Case For Nutrition Counselling
- Malnutrition is a condition that results from eating a diet in which one or more nutrients are either not enough or are too much such that the diet causes health problems. It may involve calories, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins or minerals.
