Page 50 - 30NOV2019E
P. 50

h ealth




      Every second child under                                                                                       under the age of five years are affected by  prevalence has been recognised as one   Overweight  and  obesity  increas -

                                                                                                                     micro-nutrient deficiencies. While every  of the best programmes implemented by  ingly begin in childhood with a growing
                                                                                                                     fifth child under the age five is vitamin A
                                                                                                                                                       governments across the world to address  threat of non-communicable diseases
      five faces malnutrition                                                                                        deficient, one in every third baby has a   malnutrition.            like diabetes (10 per cent) in school-aged
                                                                                                                                                                                         children and adolescents. Urban India
                                                                                                                     vitamin B12 deficiency and two out of
                                                                                                                                                         The 6X6X6 strategy (six target ben-
                                                                                                                     every five children are anaemic.
                                                                                                                                                       eficiary groups, six interventions and six
                                                                                                                                                                                         is moving into an unhealthy food snack-
                                                                                                                       The report said POSHAN Abhiyaan or  institutional mechanisms) of the pro-
                                                                                                                     the National Nutrition Mission is playing  gramme has been highlighted for using   ing environment, which is influenc -
                                                                                                                                                                                         ing children’s food choices and this is
                                                                                                                     a major role in improving nutrition indi-  anaemia testing and treatment as the   spreading to rural areas. Food consump-
     While every fifth child under the age five is vitamin A deficient, one   ated for only 53 per cent of infants aged   cators across India. The Anaemia Mukt   entry point to provide information on   tion patterns in India reveal that child
     in every third baby has a vitamin B12 deficiency and two out of every   6-8 months.                             Bharat programme to fight anaemic   healthy diets.                  diets are largely starved of proteins and
                                                                           In one of its kind report released after
                                                                                                                                                                                         micro-nutrients and are influenced by
     five children are anaemic, tehelka bureau finds out                 20 year, the UNICEF said that every sec-                                                                        household (adult) food choices.
                                                                         ond woman in India is anaemic. It also                                                                            Over  the  decades,  despite  grow -
                 alnutrition caused 69 per   by some form of malnutrition.  said that anaemia is the most prevalent     What is malnutrition?          unnoticed until it’s too late.    ing  incomes,  protein-based  calories
                 cent  of  deaths  of  chil -  This includes stunting (35 per cent),   in children under the age of five years.                                                          remain low and unchanged, and the cal-
                 dren  below  the  age  of   wasting (17 per cent) and overweight (2   Its prevalence among adolescent girls is   Malnutrition refers to deficiencies,   How many children are   orific share of fruits and vegetables has
                 five in India, according   per cent). Only 42 per cent of children   twice as that of adolescent boys.  excesses or imbalances in a per-  malnourished in the           declined. The report said globally 77 per
     M to a UNICEF report. The         (in the age group of 6 to 23 months) are   Indian children are being diagnosed   son’s intake of energy and/or nutri-  world?
      report titled ‘The State of the World’s   fed at an adequate frequency and 21   with adult diseases such as hyperten-  ents. The term malnutrition covers
      Children 2019’ also points out that every   per cent get an adequately diverse diet.   sion, chronic kidney disease and pre-  2 broad groups of conditions. One is  One in three children is not grow-     In one of its kind
      second child in that age group is affected  Timely complementary feeding is initi-  diabetic. The data states that children   ‘under-nutrition’ — which includes   ing well because of malnutrition.      report released
                                                                                                                        stunting (low height for age),   In many countries, and even within
                                                                                                                        wasting (low weight for height),   households, these three forms of   after 20 year, the
                                                                                                                        underweight (low weight for age)   malnutrition – undernutrition,   UNICEF says that every
                                                                                                                        and micronutrient deficiencies or   hidden hunger and overweight –
                                                                                                                        insufficiencies (a lack of important   co-exist. This means that a single   second woman in India
                                                                                                                        vitamins and minerals). The other    country may face the challenge of   is anaemic. It also
                                                                                                                        is overweight, obesity and diet-   addressing high rates of stunting,
                                                                                                                        related non-communicable dis-  micronutrient deficiencies, and   said that anaemia is
                                                                                                                        eases (such as heart disease, stroke,   obesity. Or a family may have an   the most prevalent in
                                                                                                                        diabetes and cancer).          overweight mother and a stunted
                                                                                                                                                       child. These trends reflect what is   children under the
                                                                                                                        How does malnutrition          known as the triple burden of mal-  age of five years
                                                                                                                        child looks like?              nutrition, a burden that threatens
                                                                                                                                                       the survival, growth and devel-
                                                                                                                        When you picture child malnu-  opment of children, economies     cent of processed food sales are con -
                                                                                                                        trition, what do you see? Twenty   and societies. This burden is only   trolled by just 100 large firms. In cities,
                                                                                                                        years ago, the image was arrest-  expected to grow.              many poor children live in “food deserts”
                                                                                                                        ing: a dangerously underweight                                   or in “food swamps”.
                                                                                                                        child who wasn’t getting enough   Has any progress been            Regarding the situation globally, the
                                                                                                                        to eat. Today, there are still mil-  made in decreasing          UNICEF’s report said at least one in three
                                                                                                                        lions of malnourished children,   obesity among children?        children under five years of age — or
                                                                                                                        but the picture is changing. While                               200 million — is either undernourished
                                                                                                                        the number of stunted children is   Strikingly, not a single country has   or overweight. The report states that
                                                                                                                        falling in every continent except   made progress in decreasing levels   almost two in three children between
                                                                                                                        Africa, overweight and obesity are   of overweight and obesity in the   six months and two years of age are not
                                                                                                                        growing in every continent, includ-  past 20 years. We are left facing the   fed food that supports their rapidly grow-
                                                                                                                        ing Africa, and at a much faster   question: why are so many children   ing bodies and brains. This puts them
                                                                                                                        rate. Globally, at least half    eating too little of what they need,   at a risk of poor brain development,
                                                                                                                        of all children under five suffer   while an increasing number of chil-  weak learning, low immunity, increased
                                                                                                                        from hidden hunger: a lack of    dren are eating too much of what   infections and, in many cases, death, it
                                                                                                                        essential nutrients that often goes   they don’t need?           said.
                                                                                                                                                                                                          letters@tehelka.com


                                                        50                                                                                                              51
   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55