Malnutrition

Antioxidants fight health risks, but tracking your intake can be tricky

To help prevent oxidative stress, people need to eat foods with antioxidants and limit their exposure to oxidants, particularly free radicals

Nearly 55K kids in Gaza under age 5 may be acutely malnourished: UN study

After two years of war and dire food shortages, more than 54,600 children younger than 5 in Gaza may be acutely malnourished, with more than 12,800 severely affected, according to a new study by a United Nations agency. By early August, roughly 16 per cent of children ages 6 months to just under 5 years in Gaza were suffering from a life-threatening type of malnutrition known as acute wasting, including nearly 4 per cent with severe wasting, according to the analysis by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the primary health care provider to Palestinian refugees in the region. Wasting requires treatment with therapeutic food over several weeks and, sometimes, hospitalization. The study, published Wednesday in The Lancet medical journal, is the most comprehensive study of child hunger in the region to date, the authors said. It relied on screenings of nearly 220,000 children from dozens of health centres and medical sites in Gaza between January 202

What is Type 5 diabetes? IDF recognises malnutrition-linked condition

Long overlooked and often misdiagnosed, Type 5 diabetes, caused by malnutrition-linked reduced insulin production, has finally gained official recognition

Environment, carbon emission neglected in sustainable development: Study

Environment, carbon emission, biodiversity and malnutrition are among the issues that remain neglected by certain groups of countries, according to a recent study that analysed the trajectories of 166 nations towards attaining sustainable development. In 2015, member states of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Aimed at achieving human progress, economic prosperity, and planetary health, the framework outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including no poverty, zero hunger, quality education and gender equality. Questions, however, remain as to how different nations navigate their own paths toward these goals, said an international team of researchers from different countries, including Australia, China and Israel. Their study, published in the journal Nature Communications, found a "polarised global landscape" with systematically neglected SDG targets, potentially leaving behind millions of people. "Our results reveal a polarised glob

India's hunger paradox: Few miss meals, but food insecurity persists

Survey reveals low hunger intensity, yet millions face undernourishment and poor food quality

Gujarat faces alarming malnutrition rate despite Rs 2,879 cr central aid

Gujarat continues to grapple with high malnutrition rate and widespread anaemia, despite receiving Rs 2,879 crore from the Centre under the Poshan Abhiyaan

Drop in nutrition, calorie intake in 80% of rural population: Economist

Rural population has been grappling with decline in food and nutrition intake after the advent of the neo-liberal policies in the early 1990s with an estimated 80 per cent of them now having less than 2,200 calories per day, according to economist Utsa Patnaik. "The nutritional intake data is not there. But from whatever there is, by using certain approximations, I estimate that more than 80 per cent of the rural population has slipped below 2,200 calories per day intake," she said while delivering the second P Sundarayya memorial lecture on the topic 'Agrarian Distress, Worker-Peasant Alliance and Resistance to Corporate and Imperialist Designs in India' here on Wednesday evening. "That is what the data tell us. That is what the government's own data from the annual economic surveys and from the National Sample Service tell us. And of course, all these claims of declining mass poverty is completely false," she alleged. The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2400 ...

India gets an 'A' for its focus on solving the malnutrition problem: Bill Gates

Bill Gates, chairman of the Gates Foundation, has stated that India receives an “A” for its focus on solving the malnutrition problem

Climate crisis may push 40 mn more children into severe hunger: Report

The annual report of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation projects that climate change could result in an additional 28 million children suffering from wasting by 2050

World leaders must step up fight against nutrition crisis, says Bill Gates

The pandemic and debt crises in poorer countries have hit health and education funding

Bill Gates gives India 'A' for focus on solving malnutrition problem

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has said he would give India "an A" for its focus on solving the problem of malnutrition. "Well, India, for its income level, acknowledges that some of these nutritional indicators are weaker than it would like. That kind of frankness and focus on it, I think is very impressive," Gates told PTI in an interview. He said India is more focused on the issue than any other government, Gates said. It's using the public feeding system and the Midday Meal System to try and get fortified foods out, but it's still a huge opportunity," Gates said. "I would give India an A for focus on the problem, he said. Responding to a question on the occasion of the launch of the Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers Report 2024, Gates said: I think it probably would rate itself maybe a B for the education but with the real serious intent to do even better." The annual report tracks progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The underst

Ending hunger

Govt must address malnutrition

UN raises alarm over rising malnutrition among women, kids in Afghanistan

Presently, Afghanistan witnesses a surge in the number of malnourished children seeking care at specialised clinics nationwide

Over 1 mn Afghan children facing severe malnutrition, says WHO chief

Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed Ministry of Public Health said that the number of malnourished mothers and children in the country has slightly increased compared to past years

India needs to address issues like malnutrition to become developed: Rajan

India needs to address problems like malnutrition to become a developed nation and also focus on its most important asset of human capital, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said. Speaking at an interactive session on a book co-authored by him at the Indian School of Business (ISB) here on Sunday, he asked how the country can become a developed one when malnutrition is prevalent. "We are fixated with becoming a developed, rich country by 2047. I use this as an example to say, you must be joking about becoming a developed rich country by 2047 with 35 per cent malnutrition today," he said. The children who are suffering from malnutrition now would join the labour force 10 years from now, he said. He also stressed on nurturing the human capital in the country by offering appropriate training on a large scale. "In order to get the medium term right, we have to focus on India's most important asset, its human capital. We have 1.4 billion people more than any other country in the .

Change in diet causing obesity rise, micronutrient deficiency: ATNI report

Citing multiple studies, the report pointed out the association between high consumption of highly processed foods and both low dietary diversity and inadequate intake of micronutrients

Haryana govt to introduce spirulina-based product to combat malnutrition

The Haryana government Saturday said it would introduce a spirulina-based product to combat malnutrition in children with a six-month pilot project planned in Nuh district. Spirulina, an algae that grows in both freshwater and saltwater, is rich in nutrients and possesses antioxidant properties, according to an official release. A study conducted by the Institute of Health Management and Research (IHMR), Bengaluru, demonstrated a reduction in malnutrition by administering spirulina to children for six months, it said. Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, after presiding over the fifth meeting of the state convergence committee under POSHAN Abhiyaan here, said three nutrition-rich programmes will be implemented across all blocks of the aspirational district Nuh. These programmes aim to alleviate malnutrition and anaemia among children and women. Nutritional support in the form of ready-to-eat food items, nutritional packets, and antioxidant-rich foods will be provided to childre

Haryana govt to launch special campaign to combat child malnutrition

The Haryana government will launch a special campaign aimed at improving the health of malnourished children in the state, an official said on Friday. Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal on Friday said this initiative will focus on addressing factors such as underweight and stunted growth that impact the lives of children from birth till the age of 6 years. The goal is to overcome these factors by 2026 and promote the overall health of children and women, he said during a meeting here. Kaushal stressed the importance of conducting a survey to gauge the extent of improvement in malnutrition and anaemia among women and children. He called for presenting meaningful results of the government's six-month nutrition campaign to identify any shortcomings and enhance its effectiveness. Kaushal asked the officers to form a dedicated team to execute this survey campaign, with the aim of eradicating malnutrition and anaemia among women and children. The state government will introduce a

Undernutrition in India a big concern, urgent attention needed: experts say

Undernutrition, especially the deficiency of micronutrients, remains a big concern in India, say food experts who emphasised the need to focus more on tackling this "hidden hunger" that undermines the health of people. Undernutrition denotes insufficient intake of energy and nutrients to meet an individual's needs to maintain good health. The Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) 2023 launched this week by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said that globally the undernourished population had increased to 768 million in 2021, marking a 34.2 per cent rise from 2014 when it was estimated to be 572 million. Undernourishment was most prevalent in Afghanistan at 30 per cent between 2019 and 2021, followed by 17 per cent in Pakistan, 16 per cent in India, 12 per cent in Bangladesh, six per cent in Nepal, and four per cent in Sri Lanka, the report said. Shahidur Rashid, Director-South Asia, IFPRI, noted that India is well placed when it comes to food production and ...

India has largest number of malnourished people, says Minister Atishi

India has the "largest number of malnourished" people, despite being the second largest producer of food in the world, Delhi Minister Atishi said in London, prompting sharp reactions from the BJP which alleged that she "defamed" the country on an international platform. Addressing the Cambridge India Conference in London on Thursday, the Delhi education minister claimed that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has brought a major shift in the politics of India by his "exemplary work" in the past eight years. "It is for the first time in the democratic history of India that politics is being done on governance and parties across the country have education and health as their top agenda," Atishi said, adding, "It is really concerning that it took us 75 years since Independence to discuss politics that delivers these basic amenities." "It has taken so many years for governments to prioritize education and healthcare. In the past 75 years, we have not had a single political party that claime