Nutritional Status of Children.

Nutritional Status of Children

Investment in human resources development is the necessary and pre requisite action, for any nation’s development and progress which is well acknowledged. Regular review, improvement actions in developing nutritious status of the children becomes more important as children of today are citizens of tomorrow. The more crucial periods of a children life is, his earlier childhood, which is till the age of six years. During this age the foundation are laid for cognitive, social and emotional language, physical/mental development and lifelong learning for them. The young children who are below three years are most prone to get affected by malnutrition, diseased/infection and resultant, disability which affect the present condition of the child at micro level and further affects the human resources development at macro level. It becomes very significant in this context to do assessment of the ground reality as reflected by the statistics on nutritional status of the children in India.

There are enormous consequences of child malnutrition for morbidity and mortality and there is a adverse impact of malnutrition on productivity so that failure to combat the problems of childhood like malnutrition, it reduces potential economic growth at the macro level. Malnutrition both protein energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies directly affect children cognitive and physical growth and increase susceptibility to infect the diseases, at the micro level. It is necessary and obvious need to focus and look after the overall and nutritional development required for the children. Inadequate cognitive or social stimulation in first two to three years of a child has a lifelong effect and impact on the children educational development and psycho-social functioning at that age. It is believed that from the moment from where a woman becomes pregnant and till the age of the baby is 2 years is golden interval for intervention. After which under nutrition can or may cause irreversible damage to child for the future development. Poor and less fetal growth of the children may cause irreversible dame to the child or children.

The prevalence of low birth weight babies (less than 2.5 kg at birth) is 22.5%  as estimated by NFHS 3, but In NFHS 3 birth weight was reported only in 34.1% of cases of live births (60% of urban and 25% of rural). Since in 75% cases in rural areas, birth weight was not recorded, and health conditions are poorer in rural areas, actual percentage of low birth babies could be more than the reported figure.

Among the many countries in the world, India is a country where child malnutrition is a big and a severer and a major problem, which is a direct cause of underlying child mortality in India. This major problem which prissiest in India, has been drawing attention of researchers, policy makers and social activist in the nation. Various studies and research has been done to find out the root cause of the children malnutrition in India.

Jay Rawal

(MACJ)