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NEW DELHI: India is making steady progress in reducing child malnutrition and improving maternal and child health, but rising obesity and diabetes are emerging as a major new public health challenge, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) 2023-24 released on Friday.The survey found that the proportion of women aged 15-49 who were overweight or obese increased sharply from 24% in NFHS-5 (2019-21) to 30.7% in NFHS-6, while the figure for men rose from 22.9% to 27.3%. The share of women with elevated blood sugar levels or taking medication to control diabetes increased from 13.5% to 17.8%, while among men it rose from 15.6% to 20.9%.The trend was visible across several states. Andhra Pradesh reported one of the highest obesity burdens, with 47.9% of women aged 15-49 classified as overweight or obese and 21.8% having elevated blood sugar levels or taking medication for diabetes. Goa also reported strikingly high levels, with 45.1% of women and 43.6% of men overweight or obese, while more than a quarter of women (27.5%) and nearly a third of men (32.1%) had elevated blood sugar levels or were taking medication to control diabetes. In Delhi, 42.7% of women were overweight or obese and 19% had elevated blood sugar levels.The findings suggest India is increasingly facing a dual burden of disease. While undernutrition remains a challenge in parts of the country, obesity, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases linked to changing diets, sedentary lifestyles and ageing are rising rapidly.At the same time, the survey recorded significant improvements in child nutrition. The proportion of children under five who are stunted, a key indicator of chronic undernutrition, declined from 35.5% in NFHS-5 to 29.3% in NFHS-6. Severe wasting, which reflects acute malnutrition, fell sharply from 7.7% to 5.2%, while underweight prevalence declined marginally from 32.1% to 31.8%.Maternal and child health indicators also improved. Mothers receiving at least four antenatal care visits increased from 58.5% to 65.2%, while consumption of iron-folic acid supplements for at least 180 days during pregnancy rose from 26% to 37.8%. Institutional deliveries increased from 88.6% to 90.6%.Childhood immunisation coverage continued to improve. Full vaccination among children aged 12-23 months increased from 76.6% to 82.6%, while coverage of the second dose of the measles vaccine rose from 58.6% to 71.8%. Rotavirus vaccine coverage more than doubled from 36.4% to 85.4%.The survey also recorded broader social gains. Women who had ever used the internet nearly doubled from 33.3% to 64.3%, while the proportion of women with 10 or more years of schooling increased from 41% to 46.4%. Child marriage declined from 23.3% to 20.1%.Conducted across nearly 6.79 lakh households, NFHS-6 is expected to guide future health and social sector policies and programmes across the country.
