About 17% of children in the age group of 0-5 years are underweight, while 36% are stunted and 6% are wasted, the Women and Child Development Ministry said on July 26.
Stunted, wasted and underweight are key indicators of malnutrition in children aged between 0-5 years. Stunted growth refers to children who are too short for their age, typically resulting from chronic malnutrition.
Wasted refers to children who are too thin for their height, indicating acute malnutrition often due to a recent and severe weight loss.
Underweight children have a low weight for their age, encompassing both stunting and wasting, and reflects either chronic or acute malnutrition, or a combination of both.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi said, as per the data of Poshan Tracker for the month of June 2024, around 8.57 crore children under 6 years were measured, out of whom 35% were found to be stunted, only 17% were found to be underweight and only 6% children under 5 years were found to be wasted.
According to the State-wise data shared by her, Uttar Pradesh exhibits the highest stunting rate at 46.36%, closely followed by Lakshadweep at 46.31%. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh also report alarming stunting rates at 44.59% and 41.61%, respectively.
Wasting, a sign of acute malnutrition, is most severe in Lakshadweep, with 13.22% of children affected. Bihar and Gujarat also show high wasting rates at 9.81% and 9.16%, respectively. Such high percentages reflect recent severe weight loss in children, typically due to inadequate food intake or diseases.
In terms of underweight children, Madhya Pradesh leads with 26.21%, followed by Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu at 26.41%. Lakshadweep again shows a concerning rate of 23.25%.
Some States, however, fare relatively better.
Goa reports the lowest stunting rate at 5.84%, wasting at 0.85%, and underweight children at 2.18%. Sikkim and Ladakh also show comparatively low malnutrition rates, suggesting more effective nutritional policies or better overall health conditions.
Published - July 26, 2024 06:04 pm IST
