India needs to target adolescents to check malnutrition:expert

With economic growth not translating into reduction in child under-nutrition, India needs to introduce adolescent health interventions to break the vicious inter-generational cycle, noted expert and Harvard professor S V Subramanian said today.
"Current patterns of economic growth has not translated into reducing child under-nutrition in India. Perhaps some trickle down to the rich, but certainly not for the rest, and certainly not for the poor. Even the postnatal interventions works in the short run.
"We need to consider intergenerational prospectives and introduce adolescent health interventions," said Subramaniam delivering a lecture on 'Child under-nutrition in India: Lessons learned' at the India International Centre.

He emphasised that there appears to be a vicious inter-generational cycle of under nutrition.
"And few future interventions need to focus on the time frame when the children are growing," he said.
Subramaniam questioned the notion as highlighted by media that the child malnutrition in India is a myth as stated by Arvind Panagariya, an Indian-American economist and Bhagwati Professor of Economics at Columbia University.

Panagariya had argued that child as well as adult malnutrition statistics for India are exaggerated.
Subramaniam demonstrated that the growth pattern of Indian kids during their early years is no different from kids from elsewhere when they are exposed to ideal nutritional socio-economic environment.

He also went to emphasise the role of post-natal interventions like early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding under six months, timely introduction of complementary foods, consumption of iron rich complementary foods, vitamin A supplementation, use of iodised salt, full vaccination and safe disposal of stools.
He also pointed that the role of family and how a good household can help in combating the problem.
"The need for India is to look beyond child survival and take a holistic perspective of child development," he said.
India still carries the burden of 7.5 million low birth weight in the world as compared to Pakistan which has only 1.5 million, Bangladesh having 0.7 million, Nigeria, 0.8 million, Philippines having 0.5 million and rest of the world accounting for 9.5 million low birth weight as per the UNICEF.

The stunting prevalence in India is 48 per cent (2005-2006) carrying 38 per cent of global burden 2011.