Nutritional status of children in north-east India

Undernutrition in children is the consequence of a range of factors which are often related to insufficient food intake, poor food quality, and severe and repeated infectious diseases. The inadequacy is relative to the food and nutrients needed to maintain good health, provide for growth and allow a level of physical activity (National Nutrition Policy, Government of India, 1993). Widespread poverty resulting in chronic and persistent hunger is the biggest scourge of the developing world today. Poverty, in turn, is closely linked to the overall standard of living and whether a population can meet its basic needs, such as access to food, housing, health care and education. This intersectoral and interrelated cause of undernutrition operates at many levels from the community at large to the household and children within households. Undernutrition is often cited as an important factor contributing to high morbidity and mortality among children in developing countries (Sommer and Loewenstein, 1975; Chen, Chowdury and Huffman, 1980; Vella and others, 1992a, 1992b). Undernutrition during childhood can also affect growth potential and risk of morbidity and mortality in later years of life.