Raelene Kambli leafs through a resource book on nutritional status for children below five years in India and catches up with the author, Dr Radhika Mathur to understand the significance of the subject
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| Dr. Radhika Mathur |
Malnutrition among children below five years continues to be one of India’s major human development challenges. Inspite of tremendous economic progress made in the last two to three decades, malnutrition among children in both urban and rural India still claims many lives. However, mounting cases of malnutrition has caught the public eye and so healthcare providers as well as the government are taking the necessary steps to improve the current status of nutrition for children in India. On the other hand, research concerning nutritional values and malnutrition has also been encouraged by government and healthcare providers. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) funds a lot of research activity in this field. One such research work is ‘Nutritional Status of children under five from Urban and Rural India’- authored by Dr Radhika Mathur. Dr Mathur had conducted this study through exploratory survey design and simple random sampling of 160 children under five years of age within the state of Maharashtra. The study was conducted with a view to assess the nutritional status of children below five years from urban slum and tribal villages, to find out the differences in terms of nutritional condition and to find out factors influencing them. Her research was conducted under the guidance of Dr Gajanan D Velhal, Associate Professor, Department of PSM, Topiwala National Medical College (TNMC) and Nair Hospital, Mumbai. It was recently published as a resource book by Lambert Academic Publishing.
Inside story
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| Child suffering with Kwashiorkor |
The book is a complete synopsis of the research conducted by the author. It covers various factors that determine nutritional status for children, causes of malnutrition, its types, assessment of available literature related to the condition alomgwith the researcher’s recommendations. According to the author, nutritional status is one of the basic indicators of the well being of a child and quality of healthcare in a defined area and so the book began with understanding what is the right kind of nutrition needed for Indian children below five years of age. It is then followed by a detailed understanding of malnutrition, the various factors influencing its growth in India as well as effects of malnutrition. The book also highlights some important facts about major outcomes of malnutrition [protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) that causes conditions such as Kwashiorkor, Marasmus and Marasmic kwashiorkor)] among children below five years. Moving forward, the author has presented the motive behind conducting this study and important observations made during the research. Dr Mathur also provides various fact sheets, graphs and indicators that assess and determine various causes that lead to growing malnutrition among children living within urban slums and rural villages of India. In conclusion, the Dr Mathur, cites her observations and recommends some steps to improve the current state.
Sneak peek into the findings
“A nutritional deficit in the age group of five years can greatly hamper the well being and normalcy of the individual in the future,” writes Dr Mathur, explaining the importance of determining the nutritional status among children in order to curb malnutrition. In her study, she has found out that prevalence of acute malnutrition is significantly more in rural (92.5 per cent) as compared to in urban areas (61.25 per cent). The author points out that there is micro-nutritional deficiency among children living in the rural areas. The important factors responsible for the high prevalence of malnutrition in rural areas and urban areas are poor income of the family, parental education, and lack of personal hygiene practices within the family. However, immunisation status and sanitation level have not shown any significant influence on nutritional status. Moreover the author, during her study, also found that increasing number of children with Vitamin D deficiency suffer from rickets.
| In conversation… |
| What led you to take on this research? Why did you choose this topic?
I have been a part of Shri Satya Sai Baba, an NGO which adopts small villages within the hinterlands of India and organises various healthcare programmes for people living there. Therefore, as part of the organisation I have come across many children and women who are suffering from acute malnutrition. Therefore, I choose to conduct a detailed study on the required nutritional status of children below five years. What is the significance of this subject? Malnutrition, according to me, is a very big problem in India. Lack of basic nutrition that children need to take, no access to proper healthcare centres and no awareness on hygiene, food, contraception, etc., are the major causes of malnutrition. Therefore, it is important that we understand the intensity of this problem and I believe that research in this field will help us to come up with better solutions to solve the problem. What were the challenges you faced while researching on this subject? The biggest challenge that I faced during my research was getting feedback from patients. I have seen that people living in rural areas as well as urban slums are illiterate so interacting with them and imparting education to them is a tall task. What are the major findings of this research and what are your suggestions to overcome challenges associated with malnutrition in India? In my research I have highlighted certain important parameters that determine the causes influencing malnutrition in children below five years. Once such parameter is the lack of immunisation and Vitamin D deficiency which is found to be high among children living in rural villages. For this I have suggested that educating parents on nutrition and immunisation is the need of the hour. How are you planning to take this research further? Shri Sathya Sai Baba NGO, which has its reach across India, have already put to use some measures provided in the book. |
Recommendations
On the basis of her findings, Dr Mathur has presented some recommendations in her resource book. She writes, “Reduction in grades of malnutrition in 0-5 age group can be ensured by availability of supplementary feed i.e. Greater enrollment of children in Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) network.” Stressing on the significance of immunistion for the child and the necessity to maintain an immunisation card, she writes, “Special focus is needed on immunisation aspects in 0-5 age group, as this will protect the child from the deleterious effects of diseases that they would be prone to in the early stages of life without adequate immunisation.” She further recommends the healthcare providers to focus on health education among parents, especially the mothers on the exact nutritional requirements in terms of quality and quantity of the child at specific age groups.
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