India Sees 1.6 Cr Less Kids Suffering From Stunting Last Decade

The physical growth among Indian children under five years of age has shown a continued improvement in some areas of measurement though they are still lagging in other areas. Displaying a reduction in stunting cases, India has recorded 1.6 crore fewer children suffering from it in 2022 as compared to 2012.

The Joint Malnutrition Estimates (JME) report, released by UNICEF, WHO and World Bank recently, has shed light on India's journey in combating child malnutrition. The report presents data on stunting, wasting and obesity prevalence rates in India as well as globally.

According to the report, stunting cases have dropped in India from a prevalence rate of 41.6% in 2012 to 31.7% in 2022 -- with the numbers dropping from 52 lakh to 36 lakh. This was accompanied by India's share of the global burden of stunting declining from 30% to 25% in the past one decade.

However, wasting cases and growing levels of obesity continues to remain a concern that needs to be addressed, according to the report on levels and trends of malnutrition. The overall prevalence of wasting cases in India was 18.7% in 2022, with a share of 49% in the global burden of this malnutrition indicator.

The prevalence of obesity marginally increased in a decade from 2.2% in 2012 to 2.8% in 2022 with the numbers growing to 31.8 lakh from 27.5 lakh, thereby contributing to 8.8% of the global share. But the overall classification for obesity is low and much lower than the global prevalence of 5.6%.

Stunting is the result of poor nutrition in utero and during early childhood. Children suffering from stunting may never attain their full possible height and their brains may never develop to their full cognitive potential. Therefore, dealing with stunting is seen as critical in the fight against malnutrition.

Going by the JME data, UNICEF concludes that India has shown promising progress when it comes to stunting. It has pointed out that the trends are similar to what has been recently seen from the national surveys. In fact, UNICEF India highlights that the JME estimates point to a lower prevalence of stunting cases as compared with national estimates.