50% under-5 kids have stunted growth: study

Malnutrition rate among Indian children is among the world’s highest and causes stunted growth in about half of the children under five years. Proper breastfeeding for the first two years of a child’s life and adequate vitamin supplements in food could help in resolving the problem.

Launching a landmark series of research papers on maternal and child under-nutrition, published in The Lancet, Dr M K Bhan, secretary, department of Biotechnology, said: “In India, nutrition is influenced by social, cultural and economical issues. We are not doing enough. We are not investing enough.”

The five-part series of The Lancet, suggests that children suffer a lot in their adult life if proper nutrition interventions are not delivered before the age of 24 months.

Under-nourished children are more likely to become short adults and to give birth to smaller babies. They also face developmental problems that deter them socially and economically as they grow older.