The diet of Indian infants, aged between 6-23 months, is majorly poor and lacks diversity. According to the World Health Organisation, Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) should be maintained for kids aged between 6-23 months. The children should consume at least five out of the eight recommended food groups including breast milk, grains, roots and tubers, legumes and nuts, dairy products, flesh foods, eggs, vitamin-rich fruits or vegetables, and other fruits and vegetables.

According to a recent study, “About 35% of the global child deaths and 11% of the total disease burden are due to inadequate nutrition. While in India, 1 in 3 children are underweight and stunted, and 1 in 5 children are wasted.”

Gaurav Gunnal, from International Institute for Population Sciences, Deonar, and one of the authors of the study, shared in an interview with The Times of India that Minimum Dietary Diversity Failures improved from the National Family Health Survey – 3 when 87% of the age group failed to meet the dietary diversity standards.

Indian states and their MDDF:

According to the study, eight states had high MDDF of over 80%. Uttar Pradesh demonstrated 86.1% MDDF, while Rajasthan’s MDDF was observed to be 85.1%. Gujarat’s MDDF was at 84%, while Maharashtra’s MDDF was at 81.9%. Madhya Pradesh demonstrated 81.60% MDDF. 11 states demonstrated 70%–80% prevalence of MDDF. Fourteen states and Union Territories showed 50%–70% prevalence of MDDF. Only Sikkim and Meghalaya’s MDDF were below 50%.

Gaurav Gunnal and co-author Dhruvi Bagaria of Indian Institute of Public Health in Gandhinagar, mentioned that dietary failure was mostly observed in female kids who were born to younger mothers and did not receive food from Anganwadi centers.

Role of dietary diversity in infant development:

Dietary standards need to be met in order to ensure that the infants receive adequate amount of micronutrients, especially in the early years. Micronutrients play a significant role in development and growth. Poor nutrition can stunt development and growth, leading to delayed motor and cognitive skills, poor metabolism, low immunity and increased susceptibility to diseases and infections.

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