Changes in Child Undernutrition and Overweight in India from 2006 to 2019: An Analysis of 22 States

Abstract

Objectives: India has historically displayed high levels of child stunting and low levels of child overweight. Using newly released data, we evaluated changes in priority indicators of child growth from 2006 to 2019 and examined the role of human development measures in these changes. Methods: We estimated cumulative and annualized changes in state- and district-level child growth indicators using three rounds of National Family Health Surveys (2005-06, 2015-16, 2019-20) in 22 states. Outcomes included stunting, underweight, wasting, and overweight. Human development was measured using a principal components analysis of nine survey-based items. We contrasted expected versus observed changes in district-level growth indicators between 2015 and 2019 based on changes in development measures using two-way Blinder Oaxaca decomposition. Results: From 2006 to 2019, the prevalence of stunting and underweight decreased by 10.9 percentage points (pp) and 7.1 pp, respectively, while the prevalence of wasting and overweight increased by 2.8 pp and 2.2 pp, respectively. Annualized rates of change for stunting, wasting, and underweight were lower from 2015 to 2020 compared with the 2006 to 2015 period, while rates of change in overweight were higher. Simultaneously, all nine human development indicators improved between 2006 and 2020. A unit increase between 2015 and 2020 in the human development score predicted a -4.7 pp (95% CI: - 5.7, -3.6) change in stunting, yet stunting declined by just -0.3 pp. Conclusions: Population-level reductions in child undernutrition have stalled and the rise in child overweight has accelerated between 2015 and 2020 relative to the 10 years preceding this period.

Applying Social Norms Theory for Improved Nutrition Outcomes: A Case Study of JEEViKA Self Help Groups.

“…A child raised in India is more likely to be malnourished than in Somalia. In India, even though stunting prevalence has decreased from 48.0% (2005–2006) to 38.4%, (2015–2016), it is much higher than the global rate (UNICEF, 2021; Varghese et al, 2021). With 46.8 million stunted children under the age of five years, India remains in a state of exigency.…”