Food for thought

More than 230 million people in India are undernourished — highest for any country in the world. More than 27% of world’s undernourished population lives in India. 43% of children (under 5 years) in the country are underweight compared to the global proportion of 25% and 28% in Sub-Saharan Africa .Every second child in the country is stunted .30% of babies in India are born underweight . Malnutrition accounts for nearly 50% of child deaths . Every third adult (aged 15-49 years) in the country is reported to be thin (BMI less than 18.5). 70% of children (under-5) suffer from anaemia . More than 80% don’t get vitamin supplements . More than 1.5 million children in India are at risk of becoming malnourished because of rising global food prices . Foodgrain harvest during 2008-09 is estimated to be 228 million metric tonnes . The requirement for the national population would exceed 250 million mt by 2015 .