Half of India’s adolescents (10 to 19 years) — almost 63 million girls and 81 million boys — are either short or thin, overweight or obese, as per the findings of a report on adolescents released in a high-level meeting at the NITI Aayog, together with UNICEF India on Thursday.
Over 80 percent of adolescents also suffer from ‘hidden hunger’, i.e. the deficiency of one or more micronutrients such as iron, folate, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and vitamin D, said the report ‘Adolescents, Diets and Nutrition: Growing Well in a Changing World.’
Based on the recently released Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS), the report should serve as a wakeup call for the Government as it provides unparalleled new insights into all types of macronutrient and micronutrient malnutrition, dietary habits, life skill behaviours, access to services (school, health and nutrition) and physical activity throughout adolescence (10-19 years) for both girls and boys.
The new report reveals that almost all adolescents in India have unhealthy or poor diets. This is the main cause for all forms of malnutrition. It notes that more girls suffer from shortness than boys; anaemia affects 40 percent of adolescent girls, compared to 18 per cent of boys, and worsens as they get older.
Focusing on adolescent girls, before they become mothers, is critical to break India’s intergenerational cycle of malnutrition. One of the goals of POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) is to reduce anaemia among adolescent girls by 3 per cent per year. Ensuring that school and community-based interventions reach all is essential to achieve this goal.
The findings reveal that nearly 25 percent of girls and boys do not receive any of the four school-based services (mid-day meal, biannual health check-ups, biannual deworming and weekly iron folic acid supplementation). Addressing this gap will be critical to addressing early adolescent nutrition issues.
The report also recognizes the how important it is that meals and snacks at home be nutritious. Campaigns on healthy food choices should be centred around the promotion of a variety of items in appropriate proportions at home.
Risks for non-communicable diseases are established in childhood and adolescence.
For example, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension among adolescents is increasing. The second decade of life (10 to 19 years), is therefore critical to intervene in early adolescence to prevent such diseases.
All girls and boys are unable to meet the 60 minutes per day recommended outdoor sports and exercise time.
On an average, girls in late adolescence spend only 10 minutes per day on such activities. Boys do relatively better, with exercise time of 40 to 50 minutes per day. The report recommends that adolescents themselves be supported as mobilizers and co-implementers at schools and other platforms they access, to spread the right nutrition messages to aid India’s Jan Andolan to end malnutrition.