ABSTRACT
India has one of the highest rates of underweight burden, with signs of rising obesity. Coexistence of underweight and overweight persons is symptomatic of the "double burden of malnutrition." The present study throws new light on the "double burden of malnutrition" among Indian women in the age group 22-49 years. The analysis is based on a nationally representative household survey, India Human Development Survey. Our results indicate the continuing pattern of socioeconomic segregation of underweight and overweight/obese women, with a large concentration of underweight women among the low socioeconomic group and of overweight/obese women among the high socioeconomic group. Further, relative food prices of food items like cereals and vegetables are significantly associated with the risk of being underweight and overweight/obese. Additionally, we find notable rural/urban differences. The relationship between socioeconomic factors and the probability of being underweight and overweight/obese is stronger in urban than in rural areas. Given that the health implications of being underweight and overweight/obese are equally grim, provision of healthy food items at affordable prices and implementation of programs for preventive and curative care of plausible illnesses related to underweight and overweight/obese are imperative.
Subject(s)
Malnutrition/epidemiology , Mothers , Obesity/complications , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Health Surveys , Humans , India/epidemiology , Malnutrition/complications , Malnutrition/prevention & control , Maternal Health Services , Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Middle Aged , Nutritional Status , Socioeconomic Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
Despite accelerated growth there is pervasive hunger, child undernutrition and mortality in India. Our analysis focuses on their determinants. Raising living standards alone will not reduce hunger and undernutrition. Reduction of rural/urban disparities, income inequality, consumer price stabilization, and mothers' literacy all have roles of varying importance in different nutrition indicators. Somewhat surprisingly, public distribution system (PDS) do not have a significant effect on any of them. Generally, child undernutrition and mortality rise with poverty. Our analysis confirms that media exposure triggers public action, and helps avert child undernutrition and mortality. Drastic reduction of economic inequality is in fact key to averting child mortality, conditional upon a drastic reordering of social and economic arrangements.
Subject(s)
Child Mortality , Food Supply , Hunger , Malnutrition , Poverty , Socioeconomic Factors , Child , Child Mortality/ethnology , Child Mortality/history , Child, Preschool , Education/economics , Education/history , Education/legislation & jurisprudence , Family/ethnology , Family/history , Family/psychology , Food Supply/economics , Food Supply/history , Food Supply/legislation & jurisprudence , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Hunger/ethnology , Hunger/physiology , India/ethnology , Infant , Malnutrition/economics , Malnutrition/ethnology , Malnutrition/history , Poverty/economics , Poverty/ethnology , Poverty/history , Poverty/legislation & jurisprudence , Poverty/psychology , Social Class/history , Socioeconomic Factors/historyABSTRACT
The objective of this analysis is mainly to construct an intuitive measure of the performance of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in India. The focus is on divergence between demand and supply at the district level. Some related issues addressed are: (i) whether the gap between demand and supply responds to poverty; and (ii) whether recent hikes in NREGS wages are inflationary. Our analysis confirms responsiveness of the positive gap between demand and supply to poverty. Also, apprehensions expressed about the inflationary potential of recent hikes in NREGS wages have been confirmed. More importantly, higher NREGS wages are likely to undermine self-selection of the poor in it.