Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;,
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&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.

At the time when Buddhadeb...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot; title=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot; title=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot; title=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot; title=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot; title=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 30328,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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$metaTitle = &#039;NEWS ALERTS | One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;Child Health,Child Nutrition,Food Security,Malnutrition,national family health survey,National Food Security Act,NFHS-3,NFHS-4,NFSA,nutrition,PDS,Public Distribution System,Stunting,Undernutrition,Underweight,Wasting&#039;
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A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.

At the time when Buddhadeb...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot; title=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot; title=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot; title=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot; title=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot; title=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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                <strong>One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp; underweight, says NFHS-4</strong></h1>
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                <p>&nbsp;</p><div>A French journalist once wrote: <em>The more things change, the more they stay the same</em>. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.<br /><br />At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).<br /><br />It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as <em>Bolsa Fam&iacute;lia </em>programme in Brazil, <em>Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar </em>(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, <em>Prospera</em> (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.<br /><br />It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of <em>Bolsa Familia </em>conditional cash transfer programme.<br /><br />Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.<br /><br />Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.<br /><br /><iframe height="865" src="https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed"></iframe><br /><br />The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled <em>Leaving no poor person behind</em>, Jean Dr&egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.<br /><br /><em>Nutritional status of children</em><br /><br />The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &lsquo;moderate wasting&rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &lsquo;moderate stunting&rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">press release</a>.<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.<br /><br />Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &#39;moderately underweight&#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.<br /><br />It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a> except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a>.</div><p>&nbsp;</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div><em>Nutritional status of adult male and female</em><br /><br />The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.<br /><br /><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts" data-type="interactive" data-title="Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI"></div><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t="InfogramEmbeds",d=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement("script");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async");</script><div style="padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px"></div><br />Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &nbsp;<br /><br />In all the states/ UTs (who&#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>References:</em></strong><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-4, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-3, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a><br /><br />Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf">click here</a> to access<br /><br />IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />Doubts over Maharashtra&#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;</div><div>More than half of country&#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k" title="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/" title="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm" title="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please <a href="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/" title="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>Image Courtesy: UNDP India</strong></div>               </font>
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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;,
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		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;NEWS ALERTS | One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;Child Health,Child Nutrition,Food Security,Malnutrition,national family health survey,National Food Security Act,NFHS-3,NFHS-4,NFSA,nutrition,PDS,Public Distribution System,Stunting,Undernutrition,Underweight,Wasting&#039;,
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A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.

At the time when Buddhadeb...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot; title=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot; title=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot; title=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot; title=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot; title=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
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	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 30328,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.

At the time when Buddhadeb...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot; title=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot; title=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot; title=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot; title=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot; title=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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                <strong>One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp; underweight, says NFHS-4</strong></h1>
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                <p>&nbsp;</p><div>A French journalist once wrote: <em>The more things change, the more they stay the same</em>. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.<br /><br />At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).<br /><br />It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as <em>Bolsa Fam&iacute;lia </em>programme in Brazil, <em>Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar </em>(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, <em>Prospera</em> (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.<br /><br />It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of <em>Bolsa Familia </em>conditional cash transfer programme.<br /><br />Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.<br /><br />Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.<br /><br /><iframe height="865" src="https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed"></iframe><br /><br />The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled <em>Leaving no poor person behind</em>, Jean Dr&egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.<br /><br /><em>Nutritional status of children</em><br /><br />The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &lsquo;moderate wasting&rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &lsquo;moderate stunting&rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">press release</a>.<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.<br /><br />Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &#39;moderately underweight&#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.<br /><br />It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a> except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a>.</div><p>&nbsp;</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div><em>Nutritional status of adult male and female</em><br /><br />The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.<br /><br /><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts" data-type="interactive" data-title="Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI"></div><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t="InfogramEmbeds",d=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement("script");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async");</script><div style="padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px"></div><br />Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &nbsp;<br /><br />In all the states/ UTs (who&#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>References:</em></strong><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-4, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-3, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a><br /><br />Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf">click here</a> to access<br /><br />IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />Doubts over Maharashtra&#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;</div><div>More than half of country&#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k" title="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/" title="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm" title="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please <a href="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/" title="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>Image Courtesy: UNDP India</strong></div>               </font>
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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f0aef975bf7-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;,
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		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;NEWS ALERTS | One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;Child Health,Child Nutrition,Food Security,Malnutrition,national family health survey,National Food Security Act,NFHS-3,NFHS-4,NFSA,nutrition,PDS,Public Distribution System,Stunting,Undernutrition,Underweight,Wasting&#039;,
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A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.

At the time when Buddhadeb...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot; title=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot; title=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot; title=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot; title=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot; title=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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$metaTitle = &#039;NEWS ALERTS | One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp;amp; underweight, says NFHS-4&#039;
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A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.

At the time when Buddhadeb...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;A French journalist once wrote: &lt;em&gt;The more things change, the more they stay the same&lt;/em&gt;. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Fam&amp;iacute;lia &lt;/em&gt;programme in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar &lt;/em&gt;(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, &lt;em&gt;Prospera&lt;/em&gt; (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of &lt;em&gt;Bolsa Familia &lt;/em&gt;conditional cash transfer programme.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&amp;#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe height=&quot;865&quot; src=&quot;https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled &lt;em&gt;Leaving no poor person behind&lt;/em&gt;, Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&amp;egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of children&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp;amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &amp;lsquo;moderate wasting&amp;rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &amp;lsquo;moderate stunting&amp;rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;press release&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to the UNICEF (please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot; title=&quot;http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &amp;#39;moderately underweight&amp;#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp;amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt; except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Nutritional status of adult male and female&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&amp;#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;infogram-embed&quot; data-id=&quot;percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts&quot; data-type=&quot;interactive&quot; data-title=&quot;Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;script&gt;!function(e,i,n,s){var t=&quot;InfogramEmbeds&quot;,d=e.getElementsByTagName(&quot;script&quot;)[0];if(window[t]&amp;&amp;window[t].initialized)window[t].process&amp;&amp;window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=&quot;https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js&quot;,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,&quot;infogram-async&quot;);&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In all the states/ UTs (who&amp;#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-4, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National Family Health Survey-3, &lt;a href=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot; title=&quot;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&quot;&gt;http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Doubts over Maharashtra&amp;#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;More than half of country&amp;#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot; title=&quot;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&amp;egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot; title=&quot;http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot; title=&quot;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot; title=&quot;http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&amp;#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot; title=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf&quot; title=&quot;NNMB NCAER report&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: UNDP India&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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                <strong>One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp; underweight, says NFHS-4</strong></h1>
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                <p>&nbsp;</p><div>A French journalist once wrote: <em>The more things change, the more they stay the same</em>. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.<br /><br />At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).<br /><br />It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as <em>Bolsa Fam&iacute;lia </em>programme in Brazil, <em>Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar </em>(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, <em>Prospera</em> (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.<br /><br />It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of <em>Bolsa Familia </em>conditional cash transfer programme.<br /><br />Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.<br /><br />Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.<br /><br /><iframe height="865" src="https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed"></iframe><br /><br />The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled <em>Leaving no poor person behind</em>, Jean Dr&egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.<br /><br /><em>Nutritional status of children</em><br /><br />The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &lsquo;moderate wasting&rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &lsquo;moderate stunting&rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">press release</a>.<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.<br /><br />Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &#39;moderately underweight&#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.<br /><br />It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a> except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a>.</div><p>&nbsp;</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div><em>Nutritional status of adult male and female</em><br /><br />The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.<br /><br /><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts" data-type="interactive" data-title="Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI"></div><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t="InfogramEmbeds",d=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement("script");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async");</script><div style="padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px"></div><br />Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &nbsp;<br /><br />In all the states/ UTs (who&#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>References:</em></strong><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-4, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-3, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a><br /><br />Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf">click here</a> to access<br /><br />IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />Doubts over Maharashtra&#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;</div><div>More than half of country&#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k" title="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/" title="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm" title="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please <a href="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/" title="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>Image Courtesy: UNDP India</strong></div>               </font>
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		'title' => 'One-third of West Bengal kids stunted & underweight, says NFHS-4',
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		'description' => '<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div>A French journalist once wrote: <em>The more things change, the more they stay the same</em>. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.<br />
<br />
At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).<br />
<br />
It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as <em>Bolsa Fam&iacute;lia </em>programme in Brazil, <em>Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar </em>(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, <em>Prospera</em> (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.<br />
<br />
It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of <em>Bolsa Familia </em>conditional cash transfer programme.<br />
<br />
Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.<br />
<br />
Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.<br />
<br />
<iframe height="865" src="https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed"></iframe><br />
<br />
The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br />
<br />
It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled <em>Leaving no poor person behind</em>, Jean Dr&egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.<br />
<br />
<em>Nutritional status of children</em><br />
<br />
The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.<br />
<br />
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &lsquo;moderate wasting&rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).<br />
<br />
According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.<br />
<br />
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &lsquo;moderate stunting&rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">press release</a>.<br />
<br />
According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.<br />
<br />
Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &#39;moderately underweight&#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.<br />
<br />
It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a> except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a>.</div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div>&nbsp;</div>

<div><em>Nutritional status of adult male and female</em><br />
<br />
The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.<br />
<br />
<div class="infogram-embed" data-id="percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts" data-type="interactive" data-title="Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI"></div><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t="InfogramEmbeds",d=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement("script");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async");</script><div style="padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px"></div>
<br />
Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br />
<br />
Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &nbsp;<br />
<br />
In all the states/ UTs (who&#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><em>References:</em></strong><br />
<br />
National Family Health Survey-4, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a><br />
<br />
National Family Health Survey-3, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a><br />
<br />
Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br />
<br />
Doubts over Maharashtra&#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br />
<br />
50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html">click here</a> to access</div>

<div>&nbsp;</div>

<div>India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;</div>

<div>More than half of country&#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please <a href="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report">click here</a> to access</div>

<div>&nbsp;</div>

<div><strong>Image Courtesy: UNDP India</strong></div>
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	'metaTitle' => 'NEWS ALERTS | One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp; underweight, says NFHS-4',
	'metaKeywords' => 'Child Health,Child Nutrition,Food Security,Malnutrition,national family health survey,National Food Security Act,NFHS-3,NFHS-4,NFSA,nutrition,PDS,Public Distribution System,Stunting,Undernutrition,Underweight,Wasting',
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A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.

At the time when Buddhadeb...',
	'disp' => '<p>&nbsp;</p><div>A French journalist once wrote: <em>The more things change, the more they stay the same</em>. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.<br /><br />At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).<br /><br />It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as <em>Bolsa Fam&iacute;lia </em>programme in Brazil, <em>Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar </em>(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, <em>Prospera</em> (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.<br /><br />It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of <em>Bolsa Familia </em>conditional cash transfer programme.<br /><br />Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.<br /><br />Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.<br /><br /><iframe height="865" src="https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed"></iframe><br /><br />The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled <em>Leaving no poor person behind</em>, Jean Dr&egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.<br /><br /><em>Nutritional status of children</em><br /><br />The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &lsquo;moderate wasting&rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &lsquo;moderate stunting&rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">press release</a>.<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.<br /><br />Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &#39;moderately underweight&#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.<br /><br />It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a> except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a>.</div><p>&nbsp;</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div><em>Nutritional status of adult male and female</em><br /><br />The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.<br /><br /><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts" data-type="interactive" data-title="Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI"></div><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t="InfogramEmbeds",d=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement("script");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async");</script><div style="padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px"></div><br />Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &nbsp;<br /><br />In all the states/ UTs (who&#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>References:</em></strong><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-4, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-3, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a><br /><br />Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf">click here</a> to access<br /><br />IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />Doubts over Maharashtra&#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;</div><div>More than half of country&#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k" title="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/" title="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm" title="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please <a href="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/" title="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>Image Courtesy: UNDP India</strong></div>',
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	'title' => 'One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp; underweight, says NFHS-4',
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	'description' => '<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div>A French journalist once wrote: <em>The more things change, the more they stay the same</em>. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.<br />
<br />
At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).<br />
<br />
It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as <em>Bolsa Fam&iacute;lia </em>programme in Brazil, <em>Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar </em>(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, <em>Prospera</em> (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.<br />
<br />
It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of <em>Bolsa Familia </em>conditional cash transfer programme.<br />
<br />
Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.<br />
<br />
Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.<br />
<br />
<iframe height="865" src="https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed"></iframe><br />
<br />
The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br />
<br />
It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled <em>Leaving no poor person behind</em>, Jean Dr&egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.<br />
<br />
<em>Nutritional status of children</em><br />
<br />
The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.<br />
<br />
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &lsquo;moderate wasting&rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).<br />
<br />
According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.<br />
<br />
A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &lsquo;moderate stunting&rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">press release</a>.<br />
<br />
According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.<br />
<br />
Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &#39;moderately underweight&#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.<br />
<br />
It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a> except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a>.</div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div>&nbsp;</div>

<div><em>Nutritional status of adult male and female</em><br />
<br />
The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.<br />
<br />
<div class="infogram-embed" data-id="percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts" data-type="interactive" data-title="Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI"></div><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t="InfogramEmbeds",d=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement("script");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async");</script><div style="padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px"></div>
<br />
Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br />
<br />
Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &nbsp;<br />
<br />
In all the states/ UTs (who&#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><em>References:</em></strong><br />
<br />
National Family Health Survey-4, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a><br />
<br />
National Family Health Survey-3, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a><br />
<br />
Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br />
<br />
Doubts over Maharashtra&#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br />
<br />
50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html">click here</a> to access</div>

<div>&nbsp;</div>

<div>India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;</div>

<div>More than half of country&#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k">click here</a> to access<br />
<br />
Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please <a href="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica">click here</a> to access<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please <a href="tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report">click here</a> to access</div>

<div>&nbsp;</div>

<div><strong>Image Courtesy: UNDP India</strong></div>
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$metaTitle = 'NEWS ALERTS | One-third of West Bengal kids stunted &amp; underweight, says NFHS-4'
$metaKeywords = 'Child Health,Child Nutrition,Food Security,Malnutrition,national family health survey,National Food Security Act,NFHS-3,NFHS-4,NFSA,nutrition,PDS,Public Distribution System,Stunting,Undernutrition,Underweight,Wasting'
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A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.

At the time when Buddhadeb...'
$disp = '<p>&nbsp;</p><div>A French journalist once wrote: <em>The more things change, the more they stay the same</em>. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past.<br /><br />At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3).<br /><br />It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as <em>Bolsa Fam&iacute;lia </em>programme in Brazil, <em>Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar </em>(National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, <em>Prospera</em> (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc.<br /><br />It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of <em>Bolsa Familia </em>conditional cash transfer programme.<br /><br />Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee&#39;s outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry.<br /><br />Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children.<br /><br /><iframe height="865" src="https://infogr.am/percentage_of_children_below_5_years_age_suffering_from_wasting_stunting_and_underweight_during_nfhs_3_and_nfhs_4_in_13_states_and_2_uts?src=embed"></iframe><br /><br />The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled <em>Leaving no poor person behind</em>, Jean Dr&egrave;ze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Dr&egrave;ze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable.<br /><br /><em>Nutritional status of children</em><br /><br />The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand &amp; West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with &lsquo;moderate wasting&rsquo; has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1).<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness.<br /><br />A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with &lsquo;moderate stunting&rsquo; has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">press release</a>.<br /><br />According to the UNICEF (please <a href="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm" title="http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2007n6/index_41505.htm">click here</a> to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance.<br /><br />Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are &#39;moderately underweight&#39; has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight.<br /><br />It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a> except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a>.</div><p>&nbsp;</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div><em>Nutritional status of adult male and female</em><br /><br />The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone&#39;s BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight.<br /><br /><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="percentage_of_adult_male_and_female___whos_body_mass_index_bmi_is_below_normal___bmi185_kgmeter_square_during_nfhs_4_in_13___states_and_2_uts" data-type="interactive" data-title="Percentage of adult male and female who&amp;#39;s Body Mass Index (BMI) is below normal (BMI"></div><script>!function(e,i,n,s){var t="InfogramEmbeds",d=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement("script");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async");</script><div style="padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px"></div><br />Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4).<br /><br />Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent). &nbsp;<br /><br />In all the states/ UTs (who&#39;s NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh.<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>References:</em></strong><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-4, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml</a><br /><br />National Family Health Survey-3, <a href="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml" title="http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml">http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml</a><br /><br />Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/health-ministry-releases-results-from-1st-phase-of-nfhs-4-survey-4678373.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/State%20of%20Social%20Safety%20Nets%20World%20Bank.pdf">click here</a> to access<br /><br />IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/ifpri-report-shows-under-nutrition-has-fallen-4677286.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/child-malnutrition-declining-though-not-fast-enough-4674611.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />Doubts over Maharashtra&#39;s Nutritional Progress?, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts/doubts-over-maharashtra039s-nutritional-progress-4675165.html">click here</a> to access&nbsp;<br /><br />50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/50-of-kids-in-10-states-anaemic-survey-4678374.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/most-indians-are-healthier-says-govt-health-survey-jyotsna-singh-4678377.html">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/india-still-has-a-high-rate-of-malnutrition-reveals-new-national-health-survey-kundan-pandey-4678379.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;</div><div>More than half of country&#39;s women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/more-than-half-of-country039s-women-kids-still-anaemic-survey-4678376.html">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k" title="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160116/jsp/frontpage/story_64199.jsp#.Vp-kyFI1t_k">click here</a> to access<br /><br />Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Dr&egrave;ze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/leaving-no-poor-person-behind-jean-dreze-4678316.html">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/" title="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/mamata-banejree-cites-progress-report-says-polls-come-and-go-her-govt-will-stay/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm" title="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457035.stm">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please <a href="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/" title="http://kafila.org/2007/02/27/napm-report-to-nandigram-via-singur/">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula&#39;s Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800823.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica">click here</a> to access<br />&nbsp;<br />Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please <a href="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report" title="https://im4change.in/siteadmin/tinymce/uploaded/Report_Of_The_NNBB_NCAER94-95.pdf" title="NNMB NCAER report">click here</a> to access</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>Image Courtesy: UNDP India</strong></div>'
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One-third of West Bengal kids stunted & underweight, says NFHS-4

A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past. At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than one-fifth of the children under 5 years of age were suffering from wasting, almost half the children of that age-group were stunted, and a little over one-third were underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-3). It is not the case that investment was not essential at that juncture, but what was lacking during that moment of Communist Party rule in West Bengal was a social policy to ensure food and social security of the poor and needy. Such pro-poor and populist policies were already in vogue in many Latin American countries such as Bolsa Família programme in Brazil, Programa Nacional de Alimentacao Escolar (National School Feeding Programme) in Brazil, Prospera (social assistance welfare) programme in Mexico etc. It is said that Lula da Silva won the Brazilian presidential election in 2006 due to the success of Bolsa Familia conditional cash transfer programme. Almost a decade has passed since then. However, there has been no change in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's outlook towards industrialization in West Bengal. Kicking off a rally in Singur on 16 January this year, Bhattacharjee blamed the present TMC-led government for stifling industrialization in the state. Almost a week before the Singur-Salboni long march, the State Government of West Bengal organized the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata to attract private investment from various captains of industry. Although the regime change in West Bengal took place in 2011 following the anti-land acquisition struggle against the erstwhile Left Front Government, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritional status of children. The recently released National Family Health Survey-4 reveals that almost one-fifth of children under the age of 5 years are still suffering from wasting, nearly one-third are stunted, and almost one-third are underweight (please check chart-1 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4). It is worth mentioning that in a recent opinion piece entitled Leaving no poor person behind, Jean Drèze (The Hindu, dated 13 January, 2016) informs us that the public distribution system (PDS) in West Bengal used to be based on a restrictive, outdated and faulty list of below poverty line (BPL) households. However, because of reforms undertaken for implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA), there is hope that PDS will eventually improve and serve the poor over the course of time. In his article, Drèze emphasizes that the new list prepared in West Bengal, based on the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), is not only more inclusive than the previous BPL list, it is also more reliable. Nutritional status of children The first phase of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) data has come out for 13 states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand & West Bengal, and two Union Territories (UTs) of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry. A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 indicates that the proportion of children below 5 years of age with ‘moderate wasting’ has increased in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (See chart-1). According to the UNICEF (please click here to access), wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five years of age. Wasting occurs due to recent food deprivation or serious illness. A comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years with ‘moderate stunting’ has declined in most states, indicating improved intake of nutrition. In nine states/ UTs, less than one-third of children are found too short for their age. While this shows a distinct improvement since the previous survey, it is found that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya more than 40 percent of children are stunted, says the Health Ministry in its press release. According to the UNICEF (please click here to access), stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally happens before two years of age, and the effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance. Similarly, a comparison of NFHS-3 against NFHS-4 shows that the proportion of children below age 5 years who are 'moderately underweight' has reduced in most states. It is found that in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh more than 40 percent of children in that age-group are underweight. It needs to be mentioned here that data on wasting, stunting and underweight was not collected by the Government for Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Telengana during NFHS-3. Stunting, wasting and underweight measures for NFHS-3 in chart-1 has been calculated on the basis of data accessed from http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml except for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For these 3 states, the NFHS-3 data has been taken from http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml.     Nutritional status of adult male and female The Body Mass Index (kg per meter square) is used as an indicator to measure nutritional status of adults. If someone's BMI is below 18.5 kg per meter square, then s/he is suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) and is underweight. Based on the NFHS-4 data, one can say that the proportion of adult female (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Bihar (30.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (6.4 percent). (Please check chart-2 for the exact data provided by National Family Health Survey-4). Similarly, the proportion of adult male (age 15-49 years) suffering from CED is highest in Madhya Pradesh (28.4 percent) and lowest in Sikkim (2.4 percent).   In all the states/ UTs (who's NFHS-4 data is available), the proportion of adult female suffering from CED exceeds that of adult male, except in Madhya Pradesh. References: National Family Health Survey-4, http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml National Family Health Survey-3, http://rchiips.org/nfhs/report.shtml Health Ministry releases results from 1st phase of NFHS-4 survey, Press Information Bureau/ Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 19 January, 2016, please click here to access The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, World Bank, July 2015, please click here to access IFPRI report shows under-nutrition has fallen, please click here to access Child Malnutrition declining, though not fast enough, please click here to access  Doubts over Maharashtra's Nutritional Progress?, please click here to access  50% of kids in 10 states anaemic: Survey, The Times of India, 20 January, 2016, please click here to access Most Indians are healthier, says govt health survey -Jyotsna Singh, Livemint.com, 20 January, 2016, please click here to access   India still has a high rate of malnutrition, reveals new National Health Survey -Kundan Pandey, Down to Earth, 19 January, 2016, please click here to access   More than half of country's women, kids still anaemic: Survey, Deccan Herald/ PTI, 19 January, 2016, please click here to access Buddha trumpets industry tune at Singur, calls for anti-TMC combine, The Telegraph/PTI, 16 January, 2016, please click here to access Leaving no poor person behind -Jean Drèze, The Hindu, 13 January, 2016, please click here to access   Bengal Global Business Summit: Mamata Banerjee woos industry, Jaitley promises support -Aniruddha Ghosal, The Indian Express, 9 January, 2016, please click here to access   India strike over police shooting -Subir Bhaumik, BBC, 16 March, 2007, please click here to access    NAPM Report: To Nandigram via Singur -Aditya Nigam, Kafila.org, 27 February, 2007, please click here to access   Cash Aid Program Bolsters Lula's Reelection Prospects -Monte Reel, Washington Post, 29 October, 2006, please click here to access   Nutritional Status of Rural Population: Report of NNMB Surveys 1994-95 (NCAER), published in 1996, please click here to access   Image Courtesy: UNDP India