July 01, 2019:

Among social groups, stunting is highest amongst children from the Scheduled Tribes (43.6%), followed by Scheduled Castes (42.5%) & Other Backwards Castes (38.6%). State of deficit

The Food & Nutrition Security Analysis, India, 2019, a report by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation & The World Food Programme lists Maharashtra as one of the six States with high levels of stunting & underweight. The State also has a prevalence of stunting & wasting. Here’s a look at the highlights of the report & overall malnutrition in Maharashtra.

What is malnutrition? Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight, obesity, & resulting diet-related noncommunicable diseases.

Types of malnutrition Moderate Acute malnutrition (MAM): Children aged between six months & 59 months who are between the -2 & -3 standard deviation for weight for height (wasting) score.

Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM): Children aged between six months & 59 months & have a weight for height (wasting) score 3 standard deviations below the median, have a mid-upper-arm circumference less than 115 mm, or the presence of bilateral edema.

Severe Chronic Malnutrition (SCM): Calculated with the Z-score defined as a height-for-age index less than –3 standard deviations from the mean weight of a reference population of children of the same height &/or having edema.

Stunting: Calculation is based on height-for-age. It is is associated with an underdeveloped brain, poor learning capacity, & increased nutrition-related diseases.

Wasting: Calculated by weight-for-height. It is associated with decreased fat mass. Also known as wasting syndrome, it causes muscle & fat tissue to waste away.

Underweight: Calculated by the weight-for-age formula. It is a body weight considered to be too low to be healthy. It can reflect both stunting & wasting.

Key highlights of the report The highest levels of stunting & underweight are found in Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat & Maharashtra.

At the national level, among social groups, the prevalence of stunting is highest amongst children from the Scheduled Tribes (43.6 percent), followed by Scheduled Castes (42.5 percent) & Other Backwards Castes (38.6 percent).

The prevalence of stunting in children from ST in Rajasthan, Odisha & Meghalaya is high while stunting in children from both ST & SC is high in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh & Karnataka.

Prevalence of wasting is highest in Jharkhand (29.0%) & above the national average in eight more States (Haryana, Goa, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka & Gujarat) & three UTs (Puducherry, Daman & Diu & Dadra & Nagar Haveli).

Prevalence of underweight is also highest in Jharkhand (47.8%) & is above the National average in seven more States (Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh & Bihar) & one UT (Dadra & Nagar Haveli).

Food & malnutrition in the country Over the last 20 years, total food grain production in India increased from 198 million tonnes to 269 million tonnes. Despite increase in food production, the rate of malnutrition in India remains very high.

In the food basket, it turns out that in both urban & rural areas, the share of expenditure on cereal & cereal substitutes has declined between 1972-73 & 2011-12, from 57% to 25% in rural areas & from 36% to 19% in urban areas.

The energy & protein intake from cereals has decreased in both rural & urban India, largely because of increased consumption of other food items such as milk & dairy products, oils & fat & relatively unhealthy food such as fast food, processed food, & sugary beverages.

The consumption of unhealthy energy & protein sources is much higher in urban areas.

Double burden of malnutrition For several decades India was dealing with only one form of malnutrition– undernutrition. In the last decade, the double burden which includes both over- & undernutrition, is becoming more prominent & poses a new challenge for India.

From 2005 to 2016, prevalence of low (< 18.5 kg/m2) body mass index (BMI) in Indian women decreased from 36% to 23% & from 34% to 20% among Indian men. During the same period, the prevalence of overweight/obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) increased from 13% to 21% among women & from 9% to 19% in men.

Children born to women with low BMI are more likely to be stunted, wasted, & underweight compared to children born to women with normal or high BMI.

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