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31 Jul, 2022
How does the malnutrition affect children
he children, particularly in rural areas of India are vulnerable to malnutrition because of insufficient dietary intakes, recurrent infections, lack of proper care, and uneven distribution of food within the family. Optimal nutrition in infancy and early childhood is essential to meet the demands of rapid growth and development. Under-nutrition reduces immunological capacity to defend against diseases, and recurrent infections, in turn reduce and deprive the body from essential nutrients. This leads to the dismal growth of children which adversely affect child's mental and physical development and, learning capacity in future life.
1 Under nutrition, which is an important determinant of maternal and child health, has significant negative effects on brain and cognitive development of children.
2 The UNICEF report says, one of the main causes of child mortality worldwide can be attributed to undernutrition, and is estimated to cause at least half of all child deaths.
3 According to the UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates of 2016, globally for children under 5 years, 155 million and 52 million children were stunted and wasted respectively. Moreover, 17 million children under 5 were severely wasted.
4 India is one among the many countries where malnutrition is a major underlying cause of child mortality and developmental challenges. The 3rd National Health and Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005-06 of India reports that, almost every second child is undernourished in India.
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