According to the UNICEF’s Rapid Survey on Children, the number of underweight children had fallen to a historic low — from 48 per cent in 2004-05 to 39 per cent in 2013-14 in the case of stunting and from 42.5 per cent to 30 per cent in the case of underweight children.
Points to Note from UNICEF Report
- Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Tripura are the only States which have reduced the proportion of underweight adolescent girls.
- Among the developed States, Gujarat is the only one to perform worse than the national average in reducing the numbers of child stunting cases and underweight children.
- Uttar Pradesh still has the highest levels of child stunting, with over 50 per cent of the children under the age of five are underdeveloped.
- Jharkhand has the highest number of underweight children under the age of five.
- Kerala remains the best performing State in the number of child stunting cases.
- Manipur and Mizoram have the lowest numbers of underweight children.
- Madhya Pradesh and Bihar still have high levels of underweight children. Both of these States reduced these numbers at fast rates along with Himachal Pradesh.
- No State reported an increase in the proportion of children underweight or stunted growth.
What is Stunted Growth?
- Stunted growth reflects a process of failure to reach linear growth potential as a result of suboptimal health and/or nutritional conditions.
- On a population basis, high levels of stunting are associated with poor socioeconomic conditions and increased risk of frequent and early exposure to adverse conditions such as illness and/or inappropriate feeding practices.
