Double Burden of Malnutrition in India: An Investigation

In the context of the existing nutrition transition, this paper tries to assess the possible existence of the double burden of malnutrition, that is, the simultaneous existence of underweight and overweight problems, in Indian society. The paper throws light on the evidence of the changing face of malnutrition among the ever-married women in India, analysing data from NFHS-2 (1998-99) and NFHS-3 (2005-06). The new classification of overweight and obesity for the Asian population as prescribed by WHO (2004) has been considered besides the traditional definition. In 2006, around half of the women were malnourished. Over these seven years time, the pace of decline of underweight proportion has been one-third as compared to the rate of increment in overweight. Considering the Asian standard cut-off points for overweight and obesity, the scenario gets worse, as one-fourth of the women were overweight. The underweight problem seems to cut across all social and economic categories, whereas, the overweight/obesity problem seems to be more of a problem of wealthier, urban women, exposing them towards double burden of malnutrition. Hence, the research and policies in India has to focus on the paradoxical co-existence of underweight and overweight problems among women to tackle this emerging issue.