Nagpur: More than 74% children below 5 years of age and more than 60% girls between 15 and 19 years in Vidarbha are anaemic, says a recent result released by National Family Health Survey-5.
The number of anaemic children has increased by 20% since the last survey held in 2015-16 and number of anaemic women (aged 15-49) has seen a 12% rise. Vidarbha’s anaemia percentage is higher than the state average and more than national average.
According to experts, this massive jump in anaemia cases in the last three years is an indicator of poor nutritional status.
“Poor diet quality may result in the lower bioavailability of dietary iron, thus increasing the risk of developing anaemia,” said endocrinologist Dr Himanshu Patil. “An overall higher prevalence of anaemia suggests the necessity of developing appropriate nutrition interventions,” he said.
“One of the major causes of anaemia is not getting enough iron through diet,” said clinical dietitian Malavika Fulwani. “In recent times, our diets have changed drastically. It consists of mostly refined stuffs which are nothing but empty calories lacking all the important nutrients, especially iron,” she said.
In women, anaemia can be caused due to heavy blood loss during menstruation. Also, deficiency of Vitamin B12 can be a cause of megaloblastic anaemia.
In children, parasite infestation due to drinking contaminated water is responsible for anaemia. In urban areas, children eat lots of junk food and packaged food which are poor at iron supply.
According to gynaecologist Dr Laxmi Shrikhande, the number of anaemic women has increased in the last three years because of more awareness and testing. “Organizations like Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India have taken it as mission to spread awareness about anaemia among women. Our efforts are gaining success as more women are now testing for anaemia,” she said.
Another important reason behind the more prevalence of anaemia in Vidarbha is that the region comes under sickle thalassemia belt. Doctors said that sickle cell anaemia test is mandatory for every expecting mother in Vidarbha, hence more cases of anaemic women are reported.
Experts also suggested some measures to cure anaemia.“Iron supplementation could be the immediate measure while periodic deworming, food diversification, and food fortification might be the long-term measures,” said Dr Himanshu Patil.
“A person with anaemia may benefit from adding iron rich foods to the diet and some foods which help the body improve the iron absorption,” said Malvika.
Iron rich non-veg foods include chicken liver, sardines, cooked turkey, salmon and tuna while vegetarian options include red kidney beans, chickpeas and split peas, all green leafy vegetables like broccoli, spinach, red and yellow peppers and kale.
Family health survey data
District
Kids aged 6-59 months
Women aged 15-49
Girls aged 15-19
2015-16
2019-20
2015-16
2019-20
2015-16
2019-20
Nagpur
44.7
70.5
46.6
53.6
51.2
57.9
Akola
53.2
77.5
38.7
52.6
42.7
60.3
Amravati
50.5
74.4
42.8
53.4
41.6
64.8
Bhandara
43.2
72.8
52.7
65.3
50.6
66.1
Chandrapur
58.8
76.6
48.7
55.5
60.7
61.7
Gadchiroli
58.3
76.6
51.7
66.2
64.4
67.3
Gondia
57.0
78.0
55.1
60.4
52.8
65.2
Wardha
48.5
71.4
42.5
60.1
43.7
63.5
Washim
60.3
70.4
35.5
56.4
37.6
53.9
Yavatmal
68.9
75.2
46.9
58.4
56.6
54.1
VIDARBHA
54.3
74.3
46.1
58.1
50.1
61.5
MAHARASHTRA
53.8
68.9
48.0
54.2
49.7
57.2
INDIA
58.6
NA
53.2
NA
53.1
NA
(Haemoglobin count for children (<11g/dl), women aged 15-49 (<12g/dl). Figures for years in %)
Vidarbha facts
- 54.3% kids were anaemic in 2015-16 while 74.3% in 2019-20
- In 2015-16, 50% girls were anaemic, in 2019, it jumped to 61.5%
- In Maharashtra, anaemic women increased from 48% to 54%