Over two thirds of child deaths were associated with undernutrition, mostly occur during first year of life, and are often linked with inappropriate feeding practices. Odisha is one of the backward States in India and the district Koraput, where majority of the population is below poverty line with high infant mortality and undernutrition. The objective of the study is to assess the prevalence of undernutrition among under five children and to study young child feeding practices in the community. A total of 600 households having below 5 year children from 30 randomly selected villages in the district were covered for study. The mean heights and weights of children were comparatively lower than the WHO Child growth standards (2006). The prevalence of overall under weight among children was 55%, while that of stunting and wasting was 57% and 24% respectively. The study revealed significant association between nutritional status and different socio-economic variables including children from households belonging vulnerable sections of society such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe communities, landless labourers, illiterate parents, kutcha households, using unsafe drinking water, and household not using sanitary latrine. Inappropriate complementary feeding practices in terms of time of initiation, quantity and quality may be attributed to higher prevalence of undernutrition. In addition, higher incidence of morbid conditions such as fever, diarrhoea etc., aggravate the situation.

Long Abstract

Assessed the prevalence and determinants of overweight & obesity among urban adolescents. It was a cross sectional and nested case control study. About 8142 boys and girls were covered for the study by using stratified random sampling procedure. Height (cm), weight (kg), fat-fold (mm) at various sites measured. Information on knowledge, perceptions and practices on diet and life styles, physical activities and leisure time spending was collected on overweight adolescents and matched controls.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 6%, while it was significantly higher (p < 0.05) among girls (7.1%) compared to boys (4.4%). It was significantly higher among adolescents of high SES (9.6%) compared to low SES (2.1%). The prevalence of hypertension (JNC VII) was significantly higher among the overweight and obesity adolescents (6.3%) compared to the normal (2.1%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed, the risk of overweight was 3 times higher among the adolescents, who did not participate in outdoor games, 2 times who had not participated in household chores and who were watching TV ≥3hrs/day.

These results suggest that there is a need to encourage adolescents for increase physical activities and change their food habits. Promotion of healthy food habits, life style practices and regulated TV watching could help in the prevention of overweight and obesity.

This paper aims at understanding the role of ICDS in enhancing the nutrition status of children and ensuring child development in India with about 60 million underweight children. The paper also presents trends and patterns in child malnutrition including micro nutrient deficiency by state, location, gender, caste and economic status. The paper uses the National Family Health Survey -1, 2 and 3 reports, and other published reports. Inequalities in under nutrition by demographic and socioeconomic and geographic groups increased during the 1990s. In India, child malnutrition is estimated to be responsible for 22% of country's disease burden. Analysis also indicates that it affects cognitive and motor development besides undermining child's educational attainment. Though ICDS has played key role in improving child nutrition status and development, issues relating to gaps in implementation need immediate attention.

Iron deficiency anemia is a major health problem of children with adverse effects on the development of the children. It afflicts millions of people all over the world, primarily affecting women of child bearing age, pregnant women and their young children particularly in the developing countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that, globally, 1.62 billion people are anemic, with the highest prevalence of anemia (47.4%) among preschool-aged children; of these 293 million children, 89 million live in India. The third National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2005-2006 revealed that at least 80% of India children aged 12 to 23 months were anemic. Anemia was especially prevalent among rural children, and the majority of India's population (72.2%) is rural. However, despite recent economic development and the existence of a national anemia-control program, the prevalence of anemia in India is increasing in a fast pace in children aged 6 to 36 months.It is the most common type of anemia caused by inadequate iron availability for hemoglobin production due to the lack of dietary iron or insufficient uptake of iron. A number of conditions are associated with anemia, including nutritional or absorptional deficiency, infectious diseases, blood loss and genetic mutations.The genes involved in iron metabolism such as transferrin (TF) and its receptors 1 and 2 (TFR1 and TFR2) and matriptase (TMPRSS6) are essential proteins for the uptake of iron by the cell. The present study highlights the role of these genes in iron deficiency anemia.

Malnutrition is associated with increased morbidity and mortality from malaria, diarrohea, measles, nutrient deficiency diseases and neonatal difficulties. There are long-term consequences of malnutrition which include disrupted cognitive development. The study conducted by me on the socio-economic status of the rural people of Digapahandi Block in the District of Ganjam, Odisha, concludes that, the cognitive development of children become largely affected by malnutrition. Malnourished children suffer from more illnesses and become more lethargic and withdrawn from the cognitive aspects which could found very actively by the well nourished children. Malnourished children perform poor on most of the psychological tests related to cognitive functions like attention, memory and perception. Thus, significant attention should be paid on the nutritional status of children.

Malnutrition is linked to more than one-third of all child deaths worldwide. Malnutrition is widely distributed throughout the world and has a high prevalence in developing countries including India. Childhood malnutrition is not just due to malnutrition, it can also be caused by enteric infections as well as genetic predisposition to malnutrition. Approximately one third of children suffer from protein-energy malnutrition (PEM), the frequency of which is rapidly increasing in developing countries because of poverty, ignorance and disease. Malnourished children have reduced levels of proliferation, higher level of DNA damage, and an impaired capacity to repair this DNA damage. Therefore, it is logical to investigate genetic predisposition to malnutrition, determine the biomarkers that can help identity children at risk of malnutrition and also explore the new treatment modalities that can explore the clinical management of malnourished children.

The research study has been carried out on 2300 children (both boys and girls) belonging to the age groups of 8-16 years attending I to X standard in government schools in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The children belonged to urban, rural and tribal schools. To understand the nutritional status of children the nutritional parameters studied were height, weight and clinical examination. The cognitive abilities like concentration, attention span and memory of children were also tested using three sub scales like Block Design test, Picture Concept test and Digit Span test of Wechsler's Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV).

The results show that there exists a difference between the reference height (NCHS standards for Indian children) and the sample average height of both boys and girls. Girls of 8-16 years showed more percentage loss of weight than boys. Nearly one third of boys and girls had fallen under the category of Grade I mild malnutrition. There is a greater difference observed between the reference weight and the sample weight for rural girls than boys. Rural boys and girls have better height and weight when compared to boys and girls of urban and tribal regions. More number of children were fallen under low score category followed by medium score category on all the three cognitive abilities. As the nutritional status was low during puberty age and efforts to be concentrated/ focused during this period are suggested.

Child ill-health and Malnutrition is widely prevalent problem in India and one of the astonishing magnitudes. According to UNICEF statistics 47% of Indian Children under age five years are categorized as moderately or severely malnourished. This problem is more intensive among tribal children due to their low socio-economic status and social isolation, become highly vulnerable in this regard. The present study aims at to discuss the levels of malnutrition among tribal children and to give the possible solutions to reduce malnutrition. The study is based on the primary as well as secondary sources of data from Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. The study finds that the development of the economy has adversely affected the quality of life of the tribal people, children are no exception. The main factors affecting health and nutritional status of tribal children are poverty, dependence on forest, primitive deliveries, inadequate breast feeding, and inaccessible habitation, inferior quality of food and non-availability of regular health services. Malnutrition not only retards physical development but also hampers the learning and cognitive process.

India is the home of about 20 percent children of the world. More than one third of the country's population, i.e. around 400 million, is below 18 years. By 2016, India's child population below 14 years of age is expected to be around 350 million. It is only by ensuring that India's children are well cared for, well protected and well supported that India can attain the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and be counted in the league of developed nation. The health and nutrition status of children has been a major area of concern for the policy makers. However, about half of the Indian children are undernourished and the similar proportion escape full immunization. The aspect of child health is intimately associated with maternal health, nutritional status, age at marriage, antenatal and post natal care and medical attention during child birth. Again all such factors are also deeply co-related with the socio-economic and socio-cultural factors very much. Such a combined effect of malnutrition adversely effects on the growth and development of the children, including their learning capability and the capacity to cope with the problems of daily living.

These issues have been observed among the people of an unorganized occupational sector, who were displaced from their earlier settlement and are struggling for their common minimum livelihood.

The present paper aims to study the incidence of malnutrition among the four southern states in India. It applies capability approach developed by A.K.Sen along with Nussbaum to assess the impact of malnutrition on child well-being. Besides we calculate BCI (Basic Capability Index) to compare the performance of the four states. The paper also reviews ongoing nutritional programmes and their effectiveness in containing malnutrition and suggests alternative measures

Anthropometric measurements were taken of all the preschool children of 28 selected village. Overall height of the preschool children surveyed was found to be 90 cm and their overall weight was 12.7 Kg. Majority ( 41%) of them were in grade-1 category ,32 % were in normal ,19% were in grade -2 category and the remaining were in grade -3 category . All the children are shorter and lower in weight than the standards. Preschool children of Tamil Nadu are taller and heavier than other states. Kerala children were shortest, Andhra Pradesh children were with lowest mean weights (P<0.001). 31 % of preschool children were anemic. The other clinical symptoms like angular stomatitis, chealosis & dryness of skin were 35 % on an average .The reason for high anemic might be due to low consumptions of iron rich foods, poor health ,hygiene & sanitation and also might be due to lack of nutritional awareness .

The study has utilized data from three waves of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) also known as Demographic Health Survey worldwide, conducted in 1992-93, 1998-99 and 2005-06. The information on anthropometric indicators for children below three years of age is provided; however the study is restricted to 'weight-for-age', underweight as it is considered to be a comprehensive indicator of child nutritional status. The study uses concentration indices (CIs) to measure inequalities in child health indicators and decomposes socio-economic inequalities into its predictors. Findings reveal prevalence of malnourished children in India, on an average, has declined by six percent (from 53% to 47%) during 1992-1998, then stagnated, reached 46 % in 2005-2006 with a decline of less than one percent during 1998-2005. Decomposition analysis for all rounds of NFHS points towards household poor economic status as the major contributor of inequalities; however there is an increase in its contribution from 50% in NFHS I to 65% in NFHS II but declines to 59% in NFHS III. Mother's illiteracy is also a major contributor in inequalities. Study highlights that although the percent of underweight children has declined in India over time, average health indicators are insufficient for determining right approach to health intervention programs which should focus ideally on both health averages and within and between group inequalities based on varying contributions of socioeconomic determinants. The health goals for India have to focus primarily on equitable access to quality health care across varying socioeconomic spectrum to achieve a healthy and sustainable India.

Recognizing the importance of health of women and children and to reduce infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR), Government of India has lunched NRHM programme with an objective to promote qualitative health services for both the vulnerable and underprivileged group. The present study makes an attempt against the backdrop to critically examine the role of NRHM in rural areas of Western Odisha of 0-3 age group children and its accountability for promotion of healthy life style among the poor socio-economic group. A total number of 150 children from different villages of Bargarh district covered under NRHM programme were selected as the sample for this study. Data for the present study were collected from the parents of the sample children, NRHM officials and workers. Our analysis on this study includes aspect such as region, religion, caste, living areas of the mother etc. Findings of the present study reveals that the malnutrition during pregnancy lead to child mal-nutrition as well as increases the risk of future diseases, physical retardation and reduced cognitive abilities.

The paper aims at to observe the role of midday meal program among school children in enhancing their nutritional status for promoting mental development. The objective of the paper is to assess the impact of mid day meal program in schools of Balangir, state of Odhisa. The data was collected through random sampling by interview followed by a questionnaire method. Height and weight are taken into consideration to measure nutritional status and mental development is measured by administering I.Q. test. It concludes that undernourishment and low level of I.Q. correlates in children of lower socioeconomic group. The study concludes that despite the success of the program, child under nutrition as a problem persists in India, hence improving child nutrition is of utmost urgency in most Indian states.

It is generally believed that poverty is the root cause of undernutrition and poor health among infants and children in developing countries. A study conducted by me in 16 villages of Haryana State, in India, which is one of the economically developed and foodgrain surplus state of the country reveals that malnutrition is very much a problem in this part of country. The recent NFHS 3 survey findings too have revealed that proportion of children with wasting and underweight have increased rather than decreasing over a period of 10 years. The present paper of mine brings out that malnutrition among children is disquieting and is present in all sections of society cutting across socio-economic and spatial dimensions. The study too suggests the possible factors beyond socio-economic characteristics, i.e. the agricultural practices adopted by farmers here. The region has witnessed green revolution and cropping pattern has changed to two crop combinations (rice and wheat) over a period of time replacing pulses and other crops. The study too suggests short term and long term measures to improve the nutrition and health status of infants and children in the state.

The objective of the present study is to assess the underweight, stunted and thinness among the most vulnerable group, the Kolam tribe of Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh. A cross sectional study of both boys and girls among the preschool and school going children of Kolam tribes are included for the study. Data was collected on demographic factors in addition to anthropometric measurements using the standard techniques (Singh and Bhasin, 1989, Weiner and Lourie, 1969). Clinical examination of children (less than 5-years age group) reveals protein-calorie malnutrition, thiamine and niacin deficiency, dental carries etc. It has been found that various socio-economic variables distressing the nutritional status of mother in turn affecting the nutritional status of the child is a cause of concern.

This paper examines the trends in rural-urban differentials in childhood malnutrition in India using multi-round of the National Family Health Survey data conducted during 1992-2006. Specifically, this paper looks into two aspects: first, it assess pattern in rural-urban differentials in childhood malnutrition in India and its states over time; second, it quantifies the extent to which socio-economic and demographic characteristics can contribute to rural-urban gap in childhood malnutrition in the country. Descriptive statistics, linear regression models, and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition techniques are used in the analysis. Result shows considerable rural-urban gap in childhood malnutrition and even the gap has increased over time. The increase was due to the rapid decline in prevalence of malnutrition in the urban areas compared to the rural areas. Over the period, the gap has narrowed down in few states while enlarged in many states of the country. Rural-urban gap was found to be primarily caused by the lower wealth, paternal education, and use of health care services among rural population, but also differences in the effects of health determinants played an important role.

Among the other contributors, unhygienic condition of household and exposure to media were important. Contribution of economic status of household increased while contribution of parental decreased over the period. These findings suggest that to reduce the burgeoning malnutrition between rural-urban areas, special attention is needed to focus on the rural deprived in the country.

Using the data from the multi-round of the National Family Health Survey conducted during 1992-2006, this study decomposes the trends in socioeconomic inequality in underweight among children age less than three years. Principal Component Analysis was used to compute a wealth index for all three rounds of the survey. This is done to make the economic inequality comparable over the period. Descriptive analysis, concentration index, binary logistic regression, and decomposition of concentration index are used in the analysis. Results show decreasing trends in childhood malnutrition in during the last 14 years, while the decline is higher during 1992-98 than during 1998-2006. Despite the decline, the prevalence of underweight remained high among less affluent sub-groups. Moreover, differential by maternal education and household economic status were greater than other groups and remained stagnant. The results of the decomposition analysis show that the contribution of household wealth and maternal education is greater than other predictors. The other contributors are caste, utilization of health care services, and exposure to media. Findings further show that, contribution of maternal education is decreasing and household wealth is increasing over the periods. Though the prevalence of underweight children has declined in India is last 14 years, the gap across socioeconomic groups remains high and alarming in case of household wealth and maternal education. The high prevalence of malnutrition among socially disadvantaged groups and persistent high disparities between the groups call for specific programmatic attention on issues of child health in India.

Proper nutrition,care & development during early childhood years lay the foundation for a healthy and productive life. India's progress in improving nutrition has been unacceptably slow. Almost one in two Indian children is stunted & 40% are underweight. One-third of all Indian women are underweight. Rates of micro nutrient deficiencies are extremely high,with almost 80% of children and 56% of women being anaemic (NFHS-3,2005-06). The country is unlikely to realize the first MDG by 2015 with its present pace of actions. ICDS is one such programme that aims to address the health, nutrition and development needs of children under six.In this context the present study attempts to analyse the impact of ICDS programme and nutritional status of children in the state. The methods of study will be exploratory and analytical in nature based on primary as well as secondary sources of data. Analysis of data shows that the programme coverage is very low with lack of proper manpower and infrastructure facility. In addition, maternal under nutrition, quality & quantity of food, lack of community participation & coordination at implementation level becomes the major obstacles to enhance the nutritional status of children in the state.

Contemporary and historical evidence suggests that the vast majority of working children originate from very poor families whose members' undernourishment is common. This paper identifies some of the fundamental reasons for the existence of undernourishment and child labour. At low levels of income, there is a positive relationship between the nutritional intake of a labourer and his/ her productivity. The concept of nutritional efficiency wage, introduced in the economic literature by Leibenstein in 1957 is not cared for by the employers. It is the responsibility of the concerned government to ensure nutritious food and other basic amenities to enhance his/ her productivity in the overall interest of the national economy.