Global Nutrition Report Shows India’s Burden of Malnutrition

Global Nutrition Report 2017 shows that India is under the burden of malnutrition.

According to the report, about 21 percent of children under five in India are ‘wasted’ or ‘severely wasted’. This means that they do not weight enough for their height. Globally, the number of children who are wasted is 52 million.

Malnutrition - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
Malnutrition refers to imbalances in a person’s intake of energy or nutrients and can occur due to an excess consumption of nutrients or a lack of nutrients.

‘India has the largest number of anemic women, followed by China, Pakistan, Nigeria and Indonesia.’

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Among children in India, 38 percent are stunting. Stinting is common among children of other countries too. Globally about 155 million children are stunted. Stunting is a condition where children are too short for their age due to lack of nutrients.

“They will learn better in school, be healthier and grow into productive contributors to their economies. Good nutrition provides the brainpower, the 'grey matter infrastructure' to build the economies of the future,” said Ms Fanzo, also the Global Nutrition Report Co-Chair.

India has the largest number of anemia among women in the world. Over half of Indian women in reproductive age suffers from anemia, a condition of having a lesser than normal count of red blood cells. In 2016, the percentage of women in India who are anemic was 48. The report shows a rise in the number of anemia among Indian women.

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“Low awareness, illiteracy and the practice of putting the family before self when it comes to care are factors that often deter women in India from taking proper nutrition and care for themselves leading to anemia.” Dr Indu Taneja, Fortis Escorts Hospital.

Currently anemia is a global health issue that affects women even in high income countries. In the world, 614 million women ages 15 to 49 are affected by anemia.

Medical Management of Vitamin Deficiencies
Vitamins are essential for our body to grow and develop normally. Vitamin deficiencies are widespread. Understand the role of dietary sources in vitamin deficiency prevention.

Another indicator, obesity is also common among women in India. According to the report, more than 22 percent of women in India are obese. Globally, around 2 million people are overweight or obese and 95 countries are dealing with the burden of obesity.

The world is off track to meet all global nutrition targets. The Global Nutrition Report 2017 shows that 1 in 3 people in the world are malnourished and 2 billion people lack key micronutrients like iron and vitamin A.

Anemia in Pregnancy - Causes Prevention Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment
Anemia is the commonest blood disorder that may occur in pregnancy and is usually due to low iron or folate reserves of the body and this is reflected as anemia.

About 88 percent of the countries in the world face serious burden of two or three forms of malnutrition. A total of 29 countries in the world are burdened with the triple burden of malnutrition - stunting, overweight, and anemia.

References:

Global Nutrition Report, 2017.

Source-Medindia