In India while under-nutrition affects the most people, over-nutrition is of serious concern as well, almost exclusively affecting upper classes.
A new study has been released today in which data from approximately 40,000 men and 60,000 women in Mumbai was analyzed and it was determined that nearly 1 in every 5 men and women were underweight at the same time that another 1 and 5 men and 30% of women were overweight. Thinness was associated with low levels of education while heaviness was associated with higher levels of education. Here's a link to the study: http://www.id21.org/health/h3hs2g1.html
Here are some more statistics from the National Family Household Survey III which I found illuminating on the malnutrition status of Indians:
- -Nationally, 45% of children under three are stunted, 40% are underweight, and 23% are wasted
- 79% of children in India are anemic - risk for anemia is almost the same for wealthy and poor households
- only 28% of children received any services at anganwadi centers in the past year (even though coverage is reported at 62%)
- 33% of women and 24% of men are vegetarians
- the highest prevalence state for obesity in women is Punjab followed by Delhi and Kerala - obesity is on the rise in wealthly women and Sikh women
- 41% of women in rural areas are underweight and 25% of women in urban areas are underweight
- 7% of women in rural areas are overweight and 24% of women in urban areas are underweight
- the more education a woman has, the more likely she is to be obese - 7% of women with no education are obese, compared to 24% of women with more than 12 years of education. same goes for wealth
