A Human Rights Based Approach to Development in India (Asia Pacific Legal Culture and Globalization) by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UBC Press
Published: 2019-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

5

Child Malnutrition, Infant Feeding Practices, and Nutrition Information

Evidence from India

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NISHA MALHOTRA

Despite a spectacular economic growth over the last three decades, there continues to be widespread malnutrition in India. Consequently, between 2005 and 2006, an alarming 43 percent of children under three years old were stunted, 48 percent were underweight, and 17 percent were wasted – these numbers are worse than some sub-Saharan African countries. It is well known that poor anthropometric indices in children have serious long-term consequences for their development. Much of the literature on this issue has stressed how malnutrition itself is a consequence of poverty (Svedberg 2000; Pryer, Rogers, and Rahman 2004; Fotso and Kuate-Defo 2006). In other words, poverty breeds malnutrition, which then leads to further curtailment of economic opportunity.

Indeed, income constraints can lead to malnutrition, but government policies, cultural norms, and lack of education are also some of the many determinants of malnutrition. I use data from India to demonstrate that information about childhood nutrition also plays a major role in higher rates of child malnutrition.

In this chapter, I survey the literature on the health effects of malnutrition in early years; present statistics on child malnutrition and infant feeding practices in India; and confirm that following World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on child nutrition makes a significant difference to anthropometric measures. Then based on survey data from the National Family Health Surveys I argue that poverty alone is not responsible for malnutrition. In fact, 20 percent of parents from the top 40 percent income group do not give supplementary solid food to their six- to eight-month-old infants, which I attribute to a lack of information on sound nutritional practices.

Health Effects of Child Malnutrition

There is ample evidence that nutrition and growth in the early years of life have consequences beyond health outcomes and survival during childhood; in fact, child malnutrition can also have health consequences in adulthood (Osmond et al. 1993; Eriksson et al. 2001). Malnutrition, described as micro-nutrient deficiency, is a serious concern as it can lead to severe physical and cognitive consequences in a child.

Malnourished children have a higher likelihood of contracting illnesses, lower recovery rates, and a lower likelihood of survival (Pelletier 1994). There is strong evidence that malnutrition at an early age can result in irreversible physical and cognitive damage, even in adolescence. For example, Martorell and colleagues (1996) show that nutrition intake during childhood (younger than three years) plays a key role in future intellectual and reproductive performance. They find that adults who had received a nutritious diet during childhood were less likely to be severely growth-impeded and that nutrition was positively associated with greater adult height, weight, and fat-free mass.

Li and colleagues (2003) find similar results: prenatal and postnatal growth (birthweight, length at fifteen days of age, and length at two years of age) were positively associated with adult body size and compositional measures (height, weight, and fat-free mass) in both men and women. Moreover, several studies have shown low birthweight to be associated with coronary heart disease later in life (Osmond et al.

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