{"id":77984,"date":"2026-06-29T17:37:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=77984"},"modified":"2026-06-29T17:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:17:23","slug":"adolescent-malnutrition-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/29-06-2026\/adolescent-malnutrition-india","title":{"rendered":"Tackling Adolescent Malnutrition in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Issues Related To Health; Issues Relating to Hunger<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-05-2026\/national-family-health-survey-nfhs-6\"><strong>NFHS-6 (2023\u201324)<\/strong> findings<\/a> highlighted rising obesity and lifestyle diseases in India, and signal <strong>an urgent need to address adolescent nutrition<\/strong> through school-based interventions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Malnutrition among Adolescents in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is facing a situation of double burden of malnutrition, where chronic undernutrition and rapid prevalence of overweight and obesity coexist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The period of adolescence ranges from age 10 to 19 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Facts and Evidence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As per<strong> <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-05-2026\/nfhs-6-obesity-diabetes-india\"><strong>NFHS-6 (2023-24):<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The percentage of obesity among women (age group 15-49 years) has risen from <strong>24% to 30.7%.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The percentage of obesity among men has increased from<strong> 22.9% to 27.3%.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High blood sugar has increased from <strong>15.6% to 20.9%<\/strong> among men and <strong>13.5% to 17.8% among women.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS, 2019)<\/strong> reported:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nearly 27.4% of adolescents in India <\/strong>suffer from <strong>stunting<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Anemia<\/strong> continues to affect a large number of adolescent girls.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India has been observing an increase in the &#8216;<strong>thin-fat&#8217; phenomenon<\/strong> i.e. children appearing slim but carrying excess body fat which makes them vulnerable to diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nearly <strong>21.8 crore men and 23.1 crore women in India may be overweight<\/strong>, with the sharpest rise among those aged <strong>15\u201324 years<\/strong> by 2050 <strong>(2025, Lancet).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Causes of Malnutrition Among Adolescents in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nutritional Transition and Imbalanced Diet:<\/strong> There is a trend of replacing traditional diets with high energy but deficient diets.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Heavy reliance on cereals leads to a deficiency of proteins, micronutrients and protective food.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024<\/strong> suggests that half of the plate should contain fruits and vegetables; yet the intake is far below recommended levels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Example:<\/strong> The studies conducted in schools indicate poor consumption of dairy products and fruits among adolescents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Increase in Consumption of Sugar and Ultra-processed Foods (UPFs):<\/strong> The availability of high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) foods coupled with their aggressive marketing is changing the eating preferences of children.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A study by WHO showed that the consumption of UPFs has been rising in India at more than 13% per annum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sugar-rich beverages, packaged snacks and instant foods are taking the place of traditional diets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Example:<\/strong> Regular intake of soft drinks by school students has led to increase in obesity and metabolic disorders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Physical Inactivity and Sedentary Lifestyle:<\/strong> Physical inactivity has emerged as one of the major risk factors for NCDs.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>With the increase in screen time and online entertainment, energy expenditure has become much less.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The urban lifestyle habits are now spreading to rural areas too.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Example:<\/strong> It has been found through research that greater screen use has an inverse relationship with intake of fruits and vegetables, thereby increasing the risk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Poor Nutrition Literacy Skills:<\/strong> Many adolescents do not possess the skills for interpreting food labels, portion size calculation and recognizing misleading advertisements.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nutrition education programs being carried out in schools remain theoretical rather than practical in nature.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aggressive food marketing affects unhealthy dietary habits too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Socio-economic and Gender Issues:<\/strong> Poverty, food insecurity and gender inequality affect the nutrition status of adolescents.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Insufficient dietary intake of adolescent girls causes anaemia and inter-generational malnutrition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Early marriage and pregnancy add up to malnutrition problems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Related Initiatives in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>PM POSHAN Scheme (Mid-Day Meal Scheme):<\/strong> It provides nutritious cooked meals to school children. It aims to achieve better enrolment, attendance and nutritional outcomes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>POSHAN Abhiyaan (2018):<\/strong> It aims to reduce the prevalence of stunting, undernutrition, anaemia and low birth weight through convergence across various ministries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB):<\/strong> It aims at reducing anaemia amongst children, adolescents and women through iron folic acid supplementation and behavior change.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>School Health and Wellness Programme:<\/strong> It is part of Ayushman Bharat. It aims at promoting health awareness, nutrition education and healthy lifestyles among school-going students.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Eat Right India Movement (FSSAI):<\/strong> It is an initiative for advocating safe, healthy and sustainable diets. It includes programs like Eat Right School and regulation of unhealthy food environments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>ICMR-NIN&#8217;s &#8216;Let&#8217;s Fix Our Food (LFOF)&#8217; initiative:<\/strong> It is a multi-stakeholder initiative for improving the food environment for adolescents.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It calls for regulation of HFSS food advertising, taxation on unhealthy beverages, food label literacy and model school nutrition curricula.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Transform Schools into Health Promoting Institutes:<\/strong> Nutrition, health and physical activity need to become an integral part of school life rather than remaining supplementary to academics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Creating UPF Free School Zones:<\/strong> Regulation of HFSS foods and sugar-rich beverages need to be done strictly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Teaching Nutrition Skills:<\/strong> Adolescents need to learn about food label reading, portion sizing, basics of cooking and how food marketing works.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhance School Meal Programmes:<\/strong> Diversification of the diet including proteins, fruits, vegetables and millets should be added to the current PM POSHAN.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ensuring Physical Activity Daily:<\/strong> Sports and physical education need to become an integral component of schooling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promoting Behavioural Changes:<\/strong> School gardens, fruit breaks, nutrition clubs and peer campaigns can institutionalize healthy habits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adolescent malnutrition is no more confined to undernutrition, but is increasingly becoming obesity, metabolic disorders and unhealthy behaviors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Since the majority of NCDs develop during adolescent period itself, there is a need for transforming schools into the front line public health institutions. Investment in healthier adolescents of today will help reduce the future disease burden and healthcare costs in the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background has-fixed-layout\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q] <\/strong>Discuss the major factors contributing to adolescent malnutrition in India. Examine the role of schools as institutions for promoting nutrition and preventing non-communicable diseases.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/how-schools-can-tackle-adolescent-malnutrition\/article71158793.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Daily-Editorial-Analysis-29-06-2026.pdf\"><strong>Download PDF<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Published on:<\/strong> 29 June, 2026<\/p>\n<p>Recent NFHS-6 (2023\u201324) findings highlighted rising obesity and lifestyle diseases in India, and signal an urgent need to address adolescent nutrition through school-based interventions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":77987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/06\/tackling-adolescent-malnutrition.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77984"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77989,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77984\/revisions\/77989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}