A new study by the PGI School of Public Health has found that 50.4% of both rural and urban children aged three to six living in India are malnourished.
The study was conducted by Dr. J. Thakur, Dr. S. Prinja and Dr. S. Bhatia. It used a randomly selected sample of 803 children from as far back as 1997. The results have been published in the Indian Paediatric Journal.
According to the results of the study, the rate of malnutrition among children has changed very little in over a decade. In 1997, 51.6% children were malnourished – only 1.2 percentage points higher than the current rate. Children are also almost as likely to be underweight as they were in 1997.
While the study indicated that the prevalence of underweight children was similar in both rural and urban areas. There were, however, geographic disparities in access to reproductive and child health care services.
For infant children (under 1 year old) in particular, the mother’s access to reproductive health care is very important. This is because young children (especially those six months old and less) depend on their mother’s breast milk for adequate nutrition. In line with conventional medical wisdom, part of reproductive health care should include the education of the mother on best feeding practices for her children.
India’s need is especially dire, given the vast number of children to which the country is home. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, one in every three malnourished children in the world lives in India. And, when children under three years old are taken in isolation, 46% of them weigh less than they should, while at least 16% suffer from wasting (severe loss of body tissue caused by hunger and resulting in emaciation).
More urgently, a study published last week by the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative showed that India ranks 25 out of 33 developing countries from Asia, Latin America and Africa studied for their infant feeding practices. The key variables were the early start of breastfeeding practices, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life, and complementary feeding in tandem with breastfeeding after six months. These guidelines conform with the World Health Organization’s standards for infant care.