ACCORDING to the National Nutritional Survey 2018, four out of 10 children under five years of age in Pakistan are stunted due to long-term deprivation which results in delayed mental development and poor school performance. There is a need for some kind of federal coordination body that may take the country’s fight against malnutrition forward in practical terms.

The inadequacy of macro or micronutrients in the diet is the root cause of under-nutrition which increases the risk of infectious diseases among children. Stunting, which occurs when a child has a low height for age, is the result of chronic or recurrent under-nutrition due to several reasons, such as undernourished mother, inappropriate feeding, poor socioeconomic status and illnesses. Stunting may lead to both long and short irreversible outcomes.

Some other forms of under-nutrition are wasting. i.e., low weight for height due to not having enough food or presence of infection, and micronutrient-related deficiencies, including iron, iodine and vitamin A, which are common among children and pregnant women.

Around one in 10 children is born with low birth weight, and in South Asia, the estimated figure is one in four. Approximately 45 per cent of deaths among children under five years of age are linked to under-nutrition. Improving 10pc life expectancy at birth is associated with upsurge in the economic growth of about 0.3-0.4 percentage points per year.

Globally, about 1.9 billion adults are overweight or obese, 462 million are underweight, and 52 million under-five children are suffering from wasting. Obesity is also a growing problem across the world. Eating habits play a significant role in ensuring optimal immune response and prevention of malnutrition. Hence, being under- or overweight is the critical link between health and infectious diseases.

While the Ministry of National Health Services works on nutrition policy and planning with the Pakistan National Nutrition Coordination Council, a federal coordination body is needed to bring all nutrition and allied matters along with nutritionists and dieticians on a single platform in order to take forward the nation’s fight against nutritional deficiencies.

Being in the forefront, trained professionals can assess the problem at the right time and can drive the communities towards a healthy society. It is time we recognised the pivotal role of food and nutrition in our daily life and incorporated nutrition education and food-based dietary guidelines in the curriculum so the young generation was aware of the role of basic food nutrients, physical hygiene and exercise.

Tabinda Ashraf Shahid

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2020