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With 46.6 million children suffering from stunted growth, India accounts for nearly a third of the world 's 150.8 million children. The report warns of a serious malnutrition crisis. India is followed by Nigeria (13.9 million) and Pakistan (10.7 million). The three countries together host nearly half of the world's stunted children.
This is despite the progress made by India in reducing stunting since 2005-06. According to the latest data from the National Family Health Survey 4, India recorded a 10-percentage-point decrease in stunting, from 48% in 2005-2006 to 38.4%. % in 2015-2016. Stunting or low height for age is due to insufficient nutrient intake and frequent long-term infections.
Highlighting the variation in stunting in the country, the report says that India is so diverse from one state to another, it is important to understand how and why the prevalence of stunting differs. "The mapping shows that stunting varies considerably from one district to another (12.4% to 65.1%), 239 of 604 districts having a stunting rate greater than 40% ", the statement said.
Regardless of stunting, India also has the largest number of wasted children in the world whose weight for height is small. India recorded 25.5 million wasted children, followed by Nigeria (3.4 million) and Indonesia (3.3 million). In reality, this is more important because, unlike stunting, the percentage of wasted children has increased in India over the years. According to the NFHS-4 standard, the percentage of wasted children under five years of age increased from 19.8% in 2005-2006 to 21% in 2015-2016. The share of severely devastated children also increased from 6.4% to 7.5% over the same period.
Decay, usually due to acute food shortage or disease, is a potent factor in the mortality of children under five.
"The waste always affects a greater proportion of children in rural than in urban areas, even if the contrast is much less pronounced," the report says. He added that more boys than girls are stunted and wasted.
India is also among the group of countries with more than one million overweight children. Other countries are China, Indonesia, Egypt, the United States, Brazil and Pakistan.
Globally, 50.5 million children under five are wasted and 38.3 million are overweight.
The prevalence of overweight children is highest in upper middle-income countries and lowest in low-income countries, the report says.
Of the 141 countries badyzed in the report, 88% (124 countries) suffer from more than one form of malnutrition, the report says.
"The numbers call for immediate action.Malnutrition is responsible for more health problems than any other cause.The health consequences of being overweight and obesity are responsible for nearly four million worldwide, "said Corinna Hawkes, co-chair of the report and director. from the Food Policy Center says.
Although the report recognizes that important steps have been taken globally to combat malnutrition, the burden remains "unacceptable and progress too slow".
Overweight and obesity among adults are also reaching record levels worldwide, with 38.9% of adults being overweight or obese. The burden of malnutrition is heavier for women than for men: one third of all women of reproductive age are anemic and women have a higher prevalence of obesity than men. Millions of women still suffer from underweight.
The health of women and mothers is considered essential for combating global malnutrition, as the germs of child malnutrition are often sown in the womb. The NFHS-4 data show that Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are the top three problem states with very low coverage of comprehensive prenatal care (ANC) by mothers. Apart from these three countries, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Gujarat were the states where the incidence of stunting was highest.
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