Triple Burden of Malnutrition among Preschool Children in India: Age Stratifed Analysis

Abstract

In spite of the implementation of several nutrition specifc initiatives in the country, India is still struggling to limit burden of malnutrition among preschool children. The aim of this study was to identify the correlates of the Double (DBM) and Triple (TBM) Burden of Malnutrition among children in India. Information about 1,99,534 children in the age group 6-59 months was obtained from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS - 4). For age stratifed analysis, age groups were created as 6-23 months, 24-35 months and 35+ months. The prevalence of DBM and TBM was found to be 40% and 16% respectively. All children who belonged to Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) and to poorest household and born at higher birth orders, etc were found to be signifcantly affected with DBM and TBM. The study recommends that government policies need to specifcally address nutritional needs of socially disadvantaged children. Also, policies should acknowledge the importance of women’s education and awareness about family planning practices to control its effect on child malnutrition.