(Bhagya Luxmi, Intern Journalist)
- The number of malnourished people in India decreased
- The problem of dwarfism in children also decreased
- Obesity problem increased in the country
In India, the number of malnourished people has decreased by six crores in the last decade. This information was given in a report of the United Nations, which also said that the problem of dwarfism in children has reduced but obesity is increasing among the adults of the country. Considered as the most authoritative global study to monitor the progress of ending hunger and malnutrition, this report said that the number of undernourished people in India decreased from 24.94 crores in 2004-06 to 18.92 crores in 2017-19. In percentage terms, the prevalence of undernutrition in India’s total population has come down from 21.7 percent in 2004-06 to 14 percent in 2017-19.
It said, “Two sub-regions that have shown a decrease in undernutrition – in East and South Asia – are dominated by the continent’s two largest economies – China and India.”
- Dwarfism decreased, obesity increased
It also said that the problem of dwarfism among children below five years in India also decreased from 47.8 percent in 2012 to 34.7 percent in 2019 i.e. in 2012, this problem was in 6.2 crore children which decreased to 4.03 crore in 2019.
The report said that most of the Indian adults became obese between 2012 and 2016. The number of obese adults increased from 25.2 million in 2012 to 3.43 million in 2016, from 3.1 percent to 3.9 percent.
At the same time, the number of women in the reproductive age group (15–49) affected by blood deficiency (anemia) increased from 16.56 crore in 2012 to 17.56 crore in 2016. The number of 0-5 months old babies who breastfeed completely increased from 1.12 crore in 2012 to 1.39 crore in 2019.
Asia has the highest number of hunger but it is also increasing rapidly in Africa. According to the report’s estimate, around the world, by the end of 2020, the -19 global epidemic will force 130 million more people to face a serious hunger problem.
According to the ‘Food Safety and Nutrition Status Report in the World’, released on Monday, in 2019, around 69 crore people worldwide are COVID undernourished (or hungry). This number is one crore more than in 2018. This report was jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the International Agricultural Development Fund (IAFD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).