Findings of third National Family Health Survey

The third National Family Health Survey (nfhs) was carried out during 2005 and 2006. Preliminary findings reveal

Child n In Madhya Pradesh, 60.3 per cent of the children under three are underweight. This is the highest in the country the problem exists in both urban and rural areas. 53.5 per cent children were underweight in the state according to nfhs-2

n Manipur, with just 23.8 per cent children having below normal weight, has the least number of underweight children. The number has fallen since the first round when 26.8 per cent of the children were in this category

n Children suffering from anaemia, between the age of 6-35 months, are the highest in Uttar Pradesh--85 per cent suffer this deficiency. Karnataka, with 82.7 per cent, is next in line.Children living in rural areas are more at risk

n In Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir, the problem is more in urban areas. In Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Uttaranchal, the number of anaemic children has gone down since nfhs-2

Women n In Kerala, least number of women have a below normal body mass index (bmi) 12.5 per cent. Even here, rural areas fare poorly

n In Chhattisgarh, 41 per cent of the women have a below normal bmi-- the worst in India. There are 45.7 per cent women with lower bmi in rural areas, compared to 23.5 per cent in urban areas

n Obesity in women has increased in all states since nfhs-2

n Around 37.5 per cent women in Punjab are obese. 45.4 per cent women in urban Punjab are overweight, the highest in the country. Kolkata follows with 36.7 per cent women affected

n Only 6.7 per cent women in Chhattisgarh are overweight, though the problem is high in urban areas 22.6 per cent are afflicted. Only 2.5 per cent women are overweight in rural Chhattisgarh

n Since nfhs-2, anaemia has increased in all states except Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab and Meghalaya

Men n 36.3 per cent men in Madhya Pradesh have a below normal bmi the highest in the country. 41.1 per cent men in rural areas here have a below normal bmi while 22.8 per cent in urban areas are affected

n Only 8 per cent men in Meghalaya have a below normal bmi

n 30.3 per cent men in Punjab are overweight or obese. 34 per cent males in urban areas are overweight compared to 27.4 per cent rural men

n Kolkata has the next highest per cent of overweight men 25.1 per cent men. But rural areas of West Bengal have the least overweight people in the country and only 2.2 per cent of men are overweight

n In all states, except Jammu and Kashmir, men in rural areas are more anaemic than in urban areas

n The least number of anaemic men are in Kerala--just 7.1 per cent

Third National Family Health Survey in India: Issues, problems and prospects

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