Page 37 - 31OCT2019E

• Obesity kills The five-year-olds who are
overweight stood in India at 2.9 million in 2018

It was issued by United Nations’ Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD), the UN Children’s
Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Pro-
gramme (WFP) and the World Health
Organization (WHO). The number of
children (under 5 years of age) who are
overweight stood at 2.9 million in 2018,
it said.
In percentage terms, prevalence of
undernourishment in the total popula-
tion in India was 22.2 per cent in 2004-
06 and 14.5 per cent in 2016-18. Preva-
lence of wasting in children (under 5
years of age) was 20.8 per cent in 2018,
while the Prevalence of obesity in the
adult population was three per cent in
2012, increasing to 3.8 per cent in 2016
While there was an increase in the the United States of America,” he said. “We must foster pro-poor and inclu-
number of richest Indians in the latest In July, a United Nations report sive structural transformation focusing
Forbes list, India ranks among those 45 pointed out that more Indians are be- on people and placing communities at
countries that are experiencing “seri- coming obese while the number of the centre to reduce economic vulner-
ous levels of hunger”. Even countries undernourished people in the country abilities and set ourselves on track to
like China (25th), Nepal (72nd), Myan- have declined. In India, the number of ending hunger, food insecurity and all
mar (68th), Sri Lanka (67th) and Bang- undernourished people declined from forms of malnutrition,” the UN report
ladesh (86th) fare well, as compared to 253.9 million in 2004-06 to 194.4 mil- said.
India on the Global Hunger Index (GHI). lion in 2016-18. However the number India’s poverty reduction “seems
Almost 36 per cent of children under of adults (18 years and older) who are relatively more modest - moving from
age five are underweight, and every day obese grew from 24.1 million in 2012 to 48.9 per cent in 1987 to 21.2 per cent in
3,000 children die from poor diet. The 32.8 million in 2016, the report titled the 2011, it said.
scarcity of nutritious food at the grow- State of Food Security and Nutrition in In the Indian Himalayas, economic
ing stage not only hampers their physi- the World 2019 highlighted. slowdown coupled with natural re-
cal and cognitive development but also source depletion and climate change
weakens their immunity and makes negatively impacted on food produc-
them prone to various infections and While there was tion and employment opportunities.
diseases, thus increasing the mortality This resulted in increased threats to
rate which is one of the main indicators an increase in the food security due to lower purchasing
for Global Hunger Index (GHI). number of richest power, it added.
An Indian government official The report also took note of the Ma-
revealed that as many as 300 million Indians in the latest hatma Gandhi National Rural Employ-
Indians were lifted above the pov- Forbes list, India ment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS),
erty line between 2004 and 2018. NITI introduced by India in 2005, the larg-
Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant claimed that ranks among those est public works programme in the
every Indian today has a biometric ID world. “Unlike the previous cases, the
card, mobile phone and bank account. 45 countries that are MGNREGS was not designed to address
“The mobile data of India today is more experiencing ‘serious employment problems arising from an
than the mobile data of the US and Chi- economic downturn or to rebuild infra-
na put together. And it is happening be- levels of hunger’. Its structure damaged by a natural disas-
cause the cost of the data in India today ranking on GHI has ter,” the report said.
is one-tenth of the cost of the United
Kingdom and one-twentieth (1/20) of dropped to 103 letters@tehelka.com

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