Kashmir kids have serious diet problem, reveals survey

Srinagar:  Nearly 88 percent of the children between the formative age of 6 and 23 months do not receive a `minimum acceptable diet’ in Jammu and Kashmir.

 According to the National Family Health Survey 2019-21, only 12.4 percent of breastfed children receive an adequate diet.

 This problem is rampant in urban Jammu and Kashmir where only 11.9 percent of breastfed children between 6-23 months receive an adequate diet compared to 12.5 percent in rural areas.

 In urban areas, 85 percent of non-breastfed children between 6-23 months do not receive an adequate diet. The percentage is 77.8 in rural areas.

 The survey also highlighted that only 41.8 percent of the children between 6-8 months in Jammu and Kashmir receive solid or semi-solid food and breastmilk.

 The survey revealed that inadequate diet supplement has given rise to many deficiency diseases among children.

 As per the survey, 26.9 percent of the children under 5 years of age are stunted. Stunted is the impaired growth and development that children experience because of poor nutrition.

 Because of the poor nutrition, the survey revealed that 19.0 percent of the children under 5 years of age are wasted.

 It also highlighted that 21.0 percent of children under 5 years are underweight compared to 16.6 percent in 2015-16.

 Noted pediatrician Dr. Suhail Naik said the main reason behind deficiency diseases among children in Jammu and Kashmir was the lack of proper scientific knowledge among feeding mothers.

 “When a child attains an age of 6 months, his energy gap enhances. Mother’s milk becomes insufficient due to which he or she needs complementary feeding. But the main issue we have noticed here is that mothers follow traditional diet pattern, which is not sufficient and scientific in nature,” he said.

 Dr. Naik said that every mother needs to consult a pediatrician to ensure a disease-free child.

“I have noticed that even children belonging to financially stable families in Kashmir suffered from deficiency diseases. So we have WHO recommended guidelines, which needs to be followed to ensure healthy growth of a child,” he said.