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NEW DELHI: More than four in ten young Indian women are living with a hidden mix of anaemia, vitamin deficiencies and early signs of diabetes — often without realising it — a major new study has found. Researchers warn this silent nutritional decline among women in their reproductive years could have long-term consequences for families and future generations.Published in the Wiley Online Library and funded by ICMR, the study assessed 1,174 healthy, non-pregnant women aged 18 to 40 across 10 centres in India: Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (Srinagar), AIIMS New Delhi, PGIMER Chandigarh, AIIMS Raipur, IPGMER Kolkata, NEIGRIHMS Shillong, OMC Hyderabad, MHRT Hyderabad, Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram and NIRRH Mumbai.
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The findings were striking. 44.07% of women had both abnormal body weight and anaemia — a combination that can affect fertility, pregnancy and long-term health. Overweight women with anaemia formed 27.6% of the group, while 10.3% of obese women and 6.1% of underweight women were also anaemic, showing that nutritional problems cut across all body types.Iron depletion was widespread. Nearly 49.9% of the women had low ferritin — meaning their iron stores were already depleted — but many were not yet anaemic, indicating a large burden of “hidden” deficiency that routine tests may miss. Vitamin shortages added to the concern: 34.2% had low vitamin B12 and 67% had vitamin D deficiency, both linked to fatigue, hormonal imbalance and poor bone health.Metabolic warning signs were also common. Insulin resistance, an early indicator of diabetes, was found in 42.9% of participants. It was measured using the HOMA-IR index, which shows how hard the body must work to keep blood sugar normal. Women aged 33–40 had significantly higher odds of having abnormal BMI along with at least one micronutrient deficiency.The study was led by Dr Mohd Ashraf Ganie of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, with co-investigators Dr P.K. Jabbar (GMC Thiruvananthapuram), Dr Neena Malhotra (AIIMS Delhi) and senior clinicians from all participating centres. Experts say the findings reveal a worrying reality: women who appear healthy from the outside may be nutritionally depleted inside, while many with normal weight are already showing metabolic strain. Dr Rohina Bashir, scientist at SKIMS Srinagar, who worked in the project, warned that undetected insulin resistance and micronutrient gaps — especially in vitamin B12 and folate — can impair fetal growth, increase low birth weight and stunting, and predispose children to obesity and diabetes later in life. She said obesity and metabolic syndrome during pregnancy further raise risks of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, underscoring the need for early screening and stronger preconception and antenatal nutrition to break this intergenerational cycle of poor health.With reproductive-age women forming the nutritional base for the next generation, the study warns this trend must be tackled early and systematically.