Our Very Height Of Eating

Context: Key findings of the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 &  PLOS (Public Library of Science) study pointed towards diminished nutrition in India.

India’s worsening malnutrition problem

• Worsening performance – Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 found India slip to101st position among 116 countries, behind Pakistan (92nd), Bangladesh and Nepal (both 76th), from 94th position among 107 countries in 2020.
  • GHI has four indicators: Undernourishment, children having lower weight for their height, children having lower height than their age (stunting), and child mortality.
• Indian men are becoming shorter: A study published in PLOS (Public Library of Science) found that over a five-year period, 15-25 years-old men were becoming shorter by 1.10 cm, and those older (26-50), were becoming shorter by 0.86 cm.

Factors behind India’s malnutrition problem

• Underlying vulnerabilities in incomes and standards of living: As height is a function of genes and socioeconomic factors such as food intake, availability, access and effectiveness of health services, etc.
  • Thus, limited growth in income and regression in living standards directly worsens nutrition intake.
• Weak expenditure on health: Netherlands spends much more on healthcare than Oman does, 9.2% of GDP vs 3.7%. This is directly reflected in height difference of Omanese and Netherlands men, despite both having comparable incomes.
  • World Bank data shows that health expenditure for India was 4.035% in 2000, dropping to 3.544% in 2018.
• Dietary factors: People with higher consumption of animal protein, which has far higher protein quality than plant protein, is found to gain height. Indian diet is not protein oriented.
• Socio-economic inequality: PLOS study shows that poorer sections of society — including poorer castes and classes — in India are shorter than their richer counterparts.

Way forward: India will need to do something drastic and step towards building norms for better intake of animal proteins, more diversified food, better use and expenditure on healthcare, and a move away from ultra-processed foods, and investing in social protection of income schemes.