Why in News

• The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), the Hyderabad-based premier research body of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has released a new set of guidelines, updating norms on recommended dietary allowances (RDA), which is the average daily intake needed for a nutritious diet.

The new guidelines

• CMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has redefined the ideal or reference Indian adult man and woman with regard to age to 19-39 years instead of 20-39 years.
• The body weight has been put at 65 kg for males and 55 kg for females while earlier, it was 60 kg and 50 kg respectively, which are a decade old.
• This is based on the latest nationally representative data sourced from the National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4, 2015-16), National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB, 2015-16), the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2006-07) and the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP 2015) to “derive acceptable reference body weight values through the lifespan”.
• In the ‘Recommended Dietary Allowances’ and ‘Nutrient Requirements’ report prepared by NIN, the city-based nodal agency for recommending dietary allowances and nutrient requirements for Indians, includes Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Tolerable Upper Limits of nutrients for the first time.
• Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) are daily dietary nutrient intake levels which would be sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all healthy individuals while EARs are the average daily nutrient intake levels of the population.
• The guidelines specify the amount of carbohydrates, minerals, dietary fibre, fats and oils, protein, and even water that a person must ideally consume.

How do Indians compare internationally?

• International comparisons find that the average Indian is lighter than his or her counterparts globally. The average weight in the United Kingdom is 86.8 kg for men and 72.9 kg for women, according to data aggregator ‘WorldData.info’. Indians are closer to typical weights prevalent in Asia. The average Sri Lankan male is 61.3 kg and woman 56.2 kg, and the average Japanese man is 69 kg and woman 54.7 kg.
• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 194.4 million people in India (about 14.5% of the total population) are undernourished. India ranks 102 out of 117 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2019.
• Malnutrition in India that includes calorific deficiency, protein hunger and micronutrient deficiency.

Schemes that fight malnutrition

• Calorific Deficiency-Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme- The scheme(under the Ministry of Women and Child Development) provides specific interventions targeted towards the vulnerable groups that include children below 6 years and women. It is focussed on supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunization, health check-up and referral services.
• National Health Mission (NHM- by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare) and it  subsumed the National Rural Health Mission and the National Urban Health Mission. It aims at  health system strengthening in rural and urban areas for – Reproductive-Maternal- Neonatal-Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A), and Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases.
• Protein Deficiency– Mid Day Meal Scheme & National Food Security Mission. Also- Pusa Arhar 16, a dwarf pigeon pea created by scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) which can be used to tackle India’s pulses shortage.
• National Nutritional policy(1993) by the Ministry of Women and Child Development- It has a multi-sectoral strategy for eradicating malnutrition and achieving optimum nutrition for all.
• National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan) – “malnutrition free India” by 2022- POSHAN Abhiyaan is India’s flagship program, hoping on improving nutritional outcomes for children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
• Micronutrient Deficiency– The National Horticulture Mission &  National Millet Mission

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/ideal-body-weight-of-indian-men-now-65-kg-women-55-kg/article32736299.ece