One Out of Two Women Anaemic, One in Four Underweight In Rural India
As many as 54% women between 15-49 years in rural India are anaemic and 27% are underweight, latest health data show.
The good news: There has been a 13.9 percentage point reduction in underweight women and a 3.2 percentage point reduction in anaemia since a decade ago, as recorded in National Family Health Survey 3 (NFHS-3) 2005-2006.
Anaemia caused 20% of maternal deaths in India, and was the associate cause in 50% of maternal deaths, according to the 2014 study published in Nutrition, an international journal.
Anaemia during pregnancy also increases the chances of foetal deaths, abnormalities, pre-term and underweight babies, IndiaSpend reported on October 27, 2016.
Jharkhand (35%), followed by Gujarat (34%) and Bihar (32%) have the highest prevalence of underweight women in rural areas.
Jharkhand (67%) also has the highest prevalence of anaemia, followed by West Bengal (64%) and Haryana (64%).
(Yadavar is a principal correspondent with IndiaSpend.)
We welcome feedback. Please write to respond@indiaspend.org. We reserve the right to edit responses for language and grammar.
__________________________________________________________________
“Liked this story? Indiaspend.org is a non-profit, and we depend on readers like you to drive our public-interest journalism efforts. Donate Rs 500; Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000.”
