The Importance of Child Nutrition
February 25th, 2023
Poor diets and malnutrition are among the greatest societal challenges of our times, impacting our health, our economies, and our environment. A healthy nutritious diet is an essential component in the growing and developing years of children. Child malnutrition is a chronic problem and a longstanding challenge in India. Malnutrition, at its core, is a dietary deficiency that results in poor health conditions. Nearly 33 lakh children in India are malnourished. It is a worry in the modern-day scenario of the country.
It manifests as wasting and stunting in children. Stunting and Wasting are two types of malnutrition that can occur in children. Stunting is low height and Wasting is low weight. They are measured with reference to the age of the child. Both stunting and wasting are serious concerns for children’s health and well-being and can have long-lasting effects on their physical and mental development.
It is important to address malnutrition in children as early as possible to prevent deficiency-related diseases, weakened immune systems, and increased risk of death. As per the Global Nutrition Report-2022, 34.7% of children and 17.3% of children under 5 years of age in India, are still affected by stunting and wasting respectively. The call to action on child malnutrition is therefore an important necessary first step for all of us as a society.
