About 55.6 per cent of India’s population is unable to afford a healthy diet, according to the United Nations’ State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report. While this number has been decreasing each year consistently except for the time India was battling with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still higher than the average of all the South Asian Countries. In fact, it is second highest, right behind Pakistan.
SOFI Report
The report, published by five UN agencies, described a ‘healthy diet’ as comprising four key aspects: diversity (within and across food groups), adequacy (sufficiency of all essential nutrients compared to requirements), moderation (foods and nutrients that are related to poor health outcomes) and balance (energy and macronutrient intake).
Currently, of the total budget allocated to public spending on food security and nutrition in India, 83 per cent of it is spent towards food consumption, which includes food availability and access, and just 15 per cent is spent on major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition.
Another global report has also raised concerns about dietary habits in India, highlighting that there is a significant increase in the consumption of unhealthy foods compared to nutritious options in the country.
The Global food policy report 2024: Food systems for healthy diets and nutrition had found that at least 38 per cent of the Indian population ate unhealthy foods, while only 28 per cent ate all five recommended food groups, which include at least one starchy staple food, one vegetable, one fruit, one pulse, nut or seed and one animal-source food.
Undernourished population of India
India had over 194.6 million undernourished people between 2021 and 2023. This was 13.7 per cent of the total population ‘Undernourishment’ refers to a person is not able to acquire enough food to meet the daily minimum dietary energy requirements over a period of one year, as per the Food and Agriculture Organization or FAO’s definition.
The number of children under five years affected by ‘wasting’ in the country was 21.9 million which represented 18.7 per cent children globally. In addition, over 36.1 million or 31.7 per cent children were stunted in 2022. The FAO has described wasting as ‘low weight-for-height’, a lethal form of malnutrition, whereas stunting is described as ‘low height-for-age’ and is the result of chronic or recurrent undernutrition. Overall, Asia had the highest wasting levels among children under five.
