<p>New Delhi: Nearly a third of Indian children under five years of age are stunted and underweight while one in every five kids is wasted, according to the sixth edition of the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/national-family-health-survey">National Family Health Survey</a> that provides a nation wide picture of children's nutritional status.</p> <p>Exclusive <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/breastfeeding">breastfeeding</a> among infants below six months has also fallen significantly from 63.7 per cent in NFHS-5 to 55.8 per cent in NFHS-6, which experts say is deeply concerning. This has happened at a time when over 95 per cent of child deliveries are taking place in healthcare institutions.</p> <p>While the percentage of stunted children is over 29 per cent for the country, an improvement from NFHS-5, in several states, the figure is way above the national average. Stunting among children is the highest in Bihar (35.6 per cent) followed by Gujarat (35.3 per cent), Jharkhand (35 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (31.5 per cent)</p>.Explained | SEHAT Mission: An effort to address malnutrition and rising non communicable disease burden .<p>Similarly, more than 32 per cent of children under five years are underweight nationwide, but statewise the figure is as high as over 41 per cent in Jharkhand and nearly 40 per cent in Madhya Pradesh. Other states with high proportion of underweight children include Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.</p> <p>Stunting, wasting and underweight among children under five years of age are measures of malnutrition, the extent of which is assessed every four years through the public health survey.</p> <p>The NFHS-6 was based on surveys conducted in 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts in 2023-24. It was preceded by NFHS-5 carried out between 2019 and 2021.</p> <p>The number of wasted children under five years – kids who are too thin for their height – remains very similar in the two surveys: 19 per cent in NFHS-6 and 19.3 per cent in NFHS-5. In Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, one in every five children under five years of age is wasted.</p> <p>Among the southern states Telangana has the worst stunting figure (27 per cent) followed by Karnataka (26.5 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (24.6 per cent).</p> <p>Karnataka tops the list in having the highest percentage of wasted kids (18.7 per cent) among the five southern states while 27.8 per cent of children under five years are underweight in both Karnataka and Telangana.</p><p>“Also exclusive breastfeeding among infants below six months has fallen significantly from 63.7 per cent in NFHS-5 to 55.8 per cent in NFHS-6. The sharp decline in exclusive breastfeeding is deeply concerning and demands urgent national attention,” the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India says in a statement.</p><p>“These findings indicate that sustaining exclusive breastfeeding for the recommended first six months is becoming increasingly difficult,” added the statement. </p>
<p>New Delhi: Nearly a third of Indian children under five years of age are stunted and underweight while one in every five kids is wasted, according to the sixth edition of the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/national-family-health-survey">National Family Health Survey</a> that provides a nation wide picture of children's nutritional status.</p> <p>Exclusive <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/breastfeeding">breastfeeding</a> among infants below six months has also fallen significantly from 63.7 per cent in NFHS-5 to 55.8 per cent in NFHS-6, which experts say is deeply concerning. This has happened at a time when over 95 per cent of child deliveries are taking place in healthcare institutions.</p> <p>While the percentage of stunted children is over 29 per cent for the country, an improvement from NFHS-5, in several states, the figure is way above the national average. Stunting among children is the highest in Bihar (35.6 per cent) followed by Gujarat (35.3 per cent), Jharkhand (35 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (31.5 per cent)</p>.Explained | SEHAT Mission: An effort to address malnutrition and rising non communicable disease burden .<p>Similarly, more than 32 per cent of children under five years are underweight nationwide, but statewise the figure is as high as over 41 per cent in Jharkhand and nearly 40 per cent in Madhya Pradesh. Other states with high proportion of underweight children include Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.</p> <p>Stunting, wasting and underweight among children under five years of age are measures of malnutrition, the extent of which is assessed every four years through the public health survey.</p> <p>The NFHS-6 was based on surveys conducted in 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts in 2023-24. It was preceded by NFHS-5 carried out between 2019 and 2021.</p> <p>The number of wasted children under five years – kids who are too thin for their height – remains very similar in the two surveys: 19 per cent in NFHS-6 and 19.3 per cent in NFHS-5. In Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, one in every five children under five years of age is wasted.</p> <p>Among the southern states Telangana has the worst stunting figure (27 per cent) followed by Karnataka (26.5 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (24.6 per cent).</p> <p>Karnataka tops the list in having the highest percentage of wasted kids (18.7 per cent) among the five southern states while 27.8 per cent of children under five years are underweight in both Karnataka and Telangana.</p><p>“Also exclusive breastfeeding among infants below six months has fallen significantly from 63.7 per cent in NFHS-5 to 55.8 per cent in NFHS-6. The sharp decline in exclusive breastfeeding is deeply concerning and demands urgent national attention,” the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India says in a statement.</p><p>“These findings indicate that sustaining exclusive breastfeeding for the recommended first six months is becoming increasingly difficult,” added the statement. </p>
