Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: DTE
Context: According to the latest UN inter-agency estimates, India has the highest child-wasting rate globally, with over 18% of Indian children affected by wasting in 2020.
Other findings:
- India had a stunting rate of 31.7 per cent in 2022, down from 41.6 per cent in 2012
- India had an overweight percentage of 2.8 per cent in 2022, compared to 2.2 per cent in 2012.
- India is the largest country in southern Asia, where half of all children with wasting in the world live
- More than three-quarters of all children with severe wasting live in Asia
- There is insufficient progress to reach the 2025 World Health Assembly (WHA) global nutrition targets and UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goal target 2.2.
Comparison of stunting, wasting, and malnutrition:
| Stunting | Wasting | Malnutrition | |
| Definition | Low height-for-age due to chronic or recurrent undernutrition | Low weight-for-height due to recent and severe weight loss | Deficiencies or excesses in nutrient intake, imbalance of essential nutrients, or impaired utilization |
| Causes | Poverty, poor maternal health and nutrition, frequent illness, inappropriate feeding and care in early life | Inadequate food intake and/or frequent illnesses | Inadequate nutrition, poor dietary diversity, poverty, food insecurity |
| Impacts | Physical and cognitive developmental delays | Increased risk of mortality, weakened immunity | Impaired growth and development, weakened immunity, increased susceptibility to diseases |
| Prevalence | Globally, over 22% of children under 5 were affected by stunting in 2022 (148.1 million children) | Globally, around 7% of children under 5 were affected by wasting in 2022 (45 million children) | The double burden of malnutrition affects many countries, with undernutrition and overweight/obesity coexisting |
| Long-term consequences | Stunting can lead to permanent physical and cognitive impairments, reduced productivity in adulthood | Severe wasting without timely treatment can result in death | Malnutrition can have long-term health consequences, including increased risk of noncommunicable diseases |
| Interventions | Improving maternal health and nutrition, promoting breastfeeding, access to nutritious food, improving sanitation and hygiene, health education | Timely detection and treatment, therapeutic feeding, access to healthcare services | Promoting balanced and nutritious diets, improving food security, and addressing socioeconomic factors |
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| World Health Assembly (WHA) global nutrition targets | In 2012, the World Health Assembly identified six nutrition targets to be met by 2025. These are: Reduce stunting by 40% in children under 5; Reduce the prevalence of anaemia by 50% among women in the age group of 19-49 years; Ensure 30% reduction in low-birth-weight; Ensure no increase in childhood overweight; Increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months up to at least 50%; Reduce and maintain childhood wasting to less than 5%.
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