HealthOver 77 per cent of India’s children lack WHO-suggested...

Over 77 per cent of India’s children lack WHO-suggested diversity in diet, study finds

-

spot_img


The WHO suggests using the Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) score to evaluate the quality of a child’s diet — it is considered to be diverse if it contains five or more food groups, including breastmilk, eggs, legumes and nuts, and fruits and vegetables.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

About 77 per cent of children in India aged 6-23 months lack diversity in diet as suggested by the World Health Organization, with the country’s central region showing the highest prevalence of minimum dietary failure, a study has found.

The states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh reported the highest levels of inadequate diversity in children’s diets — all above 80 per cent — while Sikkim and Meghalaya were the only two to report an under-50 per cent prevalence.

The WHO suggests using the Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) score to evaluate the quality of a child’s diet — it is considered to be diverse if it contains five or more food groups, including breastmilk, eggs, legumes and nuts, and fruits and vegetables.

Analysing National Family and Health Survey data from 2019-21 (NFHS-5), researchers, including those from the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, found that the country’s overall rate of minimum dietary diversity failure has dropped from 87.4 per cent, which was calculated using data from 2005-06 (NFHS-3).

However, “our study shows that the prevalence of minimum dietary diversity failure remains high (above 75 per cent) in India,” the authors wrote in the study published in the National Medical Journal of India.

The team also looked at children’s dietary habits across various food groups like proteins and vitamins, comparing data from 2019-21 with that from 2005-06.

The consumption of eggs registered an “impressive” rise, from around 5 per cent in NFHS-3 to over 17 per cent in NFHS-5 while that of legumes and nuts increased from nearly 14 per cent during 2005-06 to over 17 per cent during 2019-21.

“The consumption of vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables increased by 7.3 percentage points, whereas the consumption of fruits and vegetables increased by 13 percentage points over the same time. For flesh foods, the consumption increased by 4 percentage points,” the authors wrote.

However, the consumption of breastmilk and dairy products was found to drop from 87 per cent in NFHS-3 to 85 per cent in NFHS-5 and 54 per cent to 52 per cent, respectively.

The authors also found that the children of illiterate and rural-residing mothers with no exposure to mass media, those born first and not exposed to counselling and health check-ups at Anganwadi or Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres were more likely to be consuming diets deficient in diversity.

Anaemic children and those with a low birth weight were also found to have a higher chance of consuming a non-diverse diet.

To tackle the issue of inadequate diversity in children’s diets, the authors called for a holistic approach from the government, including an improved public distribution system, intensified ICDS programme, use of social media and nutrition counselling through local self-governance.



Source link

Latest news

Donald Trump victory bets and strong US economy power dollar gains

Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for freeThe stories that matter on money and politics in the race...

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon and Gaza kill dozens as rockets are fired into Israel | Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed at least 52 people and wounded scores more, the Lebanese health ministry said,...

Vote Like Her Life Is on the Line—Because It Is

My daughter is the light of my life, but her birth could have killed me. I didn’t have...

Keir Starmer vows tough reforms and seeks to calm markets

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly...
spot_img

Is Fashion Missing the Bigger Picture?

The Business of Fashion’s annual gathering for big thinkers BoF VOICES will take place from November 12-15 in...

Lauder’s New Pay Packages for Stéphane de La Faverie and Others

Earlier this week, Stéphane de La Faverie was named the Estée Lauder Cos.’ new president and chief executive...

Must read

Donald Trump victory bets and strong US economy power dollar gains

Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for freeThe...

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon and Gaza kill dozens as rockets are fired into Israel | Lebanon

Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed at least 52...
spot_img

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you