A new study published in the National Medical Journal of India found that about 77 per cent of children in India between ages 6 and 23 months lack diversity in diet as suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO). The study also revealed that the country’s central region showed the highest prevalence of minimum dietary failure. The states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh reported the highest levels of inadequate diversity in children’s diets, all above 80 per cent, while Sikkim and Meghalaya were the only two to report an under-50 per cent prevalence.
WHO suggests using the Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) score to evaluate the quality of a child’s diet. It is considered to be diverse if it contains five or more food groups, including breastmilk, eggs, legumes and nuts and fruits and vegetables. For the study, the researchers analysed National Family and Health Survey data from 2019-21 (NFHS-5), including those from the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare.
They found that the country’s overall rate of minimum dietary diversity failure has dropped from 87.4 per cent, which was calculated using data from 2005-06 (NFHS-3). The authors wrote, however, “our study shows that the prevalence of minimum dietary diversity failure remains high (above 75 per cent) in India.
” The team also looked at children’s dietary habits across various food groups like proteins and vitamins, comparing data from 2019-21 with that from 200.