Nutrition

What is nutrition?

Nutrition is the intake of food and its effect on our body with regard to the essential nutrients necessary to support human health. To build a healthy lifestyle one should consume the right amount of nutrients from healthy food in the right combination. Human body needs nutrients in different quantities to maintain a hearty health. So on the basis of the requirements nutrients are classified into two groups Macro-nutrients (proteins, fats and carbs) and Micro-nutrients(vitamins and minerals). Macro-nutrients are needed in large amount for energy production and growth while micro-nutrients are not needed in same amount but are still equally important to keep the body functioning

What is malnutrition?

Malnutrition brings about by consuming a meal in which nutrients are inadequate or excessive in a manner that leads to under nutrition or over nutrition. The term malnutrition often calls attention to under-nutrition where a person is not getting a wholesome and balanced meal which results in poor physical or mental development, poor energy levels, swollen legs and abdomen.

Deficiency of nutrients triggers serious health problems thereby causes clinical disorders and syndromes like goiter, anemia, kwashiorkor, marasmus and so on.

As per recent available data the percentage of under weight children in Ladakh is 15.8% where as it is 29.3% and 16.2% in Kashmir and Jammu respectively. The percentage of wasted children in Ladakh is 6.9%,12.1% in Jammu and 16.2% in Kashmir.The problem of chronic malnutrition was found to be higher in Kashmir(17.2%) followed closely by Ladakh(16.8%) and Jammu(14.1%).

In overall India the stunting children is 47%,wasted is 16% and under weight is 46%.

Globally, one in nine people in the world today (815 million) are undernourished. One in four of the world’s children suffer stunted growth. In developing countries, the proportion can rise to one in three.

Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45 per cent) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children each year.

Initiatives to address malnutrition

Malnutrition is an alarming problem in the world therefore numerous government and non government organizations are working together to address this nutrition

Govt. of India has given a high importance to the subject of malnutrition and is implementing various schemes and programmes to eradicate the malnutrition.

The schemes include Integrated Child Development Services(ICDS), National Health Mission(NHM), Mid-day Meal scheme.

Similarly multilateral organizations like UNICEF, WHO and World Bank are also consistently working to give a better health care thorough numerous projects. One of them is poverty and hunger project .It aims to eliminate the root cause of poverty and hunger by providing various income generating skills, imparting agricultural expertise to grow healthy food, letting women lead the community and so on to have just enough food to make their ends meet.