India’s deepening malnutrition
अन्नम ब्रह्म रसं विष्णुं भोक्ता देवो जनार्दनम् एवम् ध्यातव तथा ज्ञत्व अन्न दोषो न लिप्यते।
Meaning:- Food is Brahma, the essence in it is Vishnu, and the one who consumes (enjoys) it is Maheshwara the Lord Himself
Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person's intake of energy and/or nutrients.
Sone myths exist in relation to malnourishment among the population of India and these are 1.) "Children born to mothers with no schooling 2.) Children in the lowest wealth quintile are most likely to be undernourished," 3.) Bharat has not adequate supply of food 4.) Poverty are the reason for the malnourishment.
Yet actual reasons require much digging into the problems and solutions have to be embraced within the population as weeker country men can never ever enables in building strong nation. A country is known by it's population, and as we eat the same we reflect in our personality traits.
Anemia, also referred to as low hemoglobin; a very common problem observed among the population. This condition can make one feel tired and weak as you lack enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body’s tissues, affects a staggering 67% of children below the age of 5 years. Anemia is much more prevalent in women, as a hefty 57% of Indian Women suffer from it, compared to the relatively low 25% of Men in India (Under 50 years).
As 19% of Women and 16% of Men under 50 are undernourished, while 24% of Women and 23% of Men are victims of obesity.
Lack of awareness about the balanced diet, adulterations, more use of pesticides and fertilizers, following western countries eatables and eating habits, minimising the physical work, more dependence on the machines and automations, distancing oneself from the natural things and nature, releasing minimum of sweating, not practising exercise or yoga, fascination towards artificial way of living, etc such reasons are prevailing over the economic inequality and poverty among the population to contribute malnutrition and obesity in our nation. Before 1960s, Bharat lacks the food, meals, cereals etc. but Swaminathan's green revolution has made India surplus of agricultural and horticultural crops, since than Bharat is exporting agriculture items. India has more than enough to feed their own population even on charitable aids, Bharat continues to export several agricultural products.
Additional to this , lots of other socio-economic factors play a major hand in the malnourishment levels. Those who are poor are at risk for under-nutrition, while those who have high socio-economic status are relatively more likely to be over-nourished. Undernutrition is common in rural areas, mainly due to the low social and economic status of the inhabitants. Lack of clean water for drinking, poor sanitation, and hygiene increases the vulnerability to water-borne diseases responsible for acute malnutrition.Contrarily, in urban areas, overweight status and obesity are over three times as high as compared to rural areas.
Geographically, Maharashtra followed by Bihar and Gujarat have the worst levels of malnourishment among the children in the country. Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand have very high rates of undernutrition. Incidentally, these specific areas also have the highest population of children, and the highest poverty rates. And the states with the lowest percentage of undernutrition, such as Mizoram, Sikkim and Manipur have much higher malnutrition rates than developed nations.
Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is making serious efforts to address this issue. Concentration on the Implementation of Government policies should be made. There is a Need to make sure that Government policies are implemented very efficiently across the country.
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