Does cereal, protein and micronutrient availability hold the key to the malnutrition conundrum? An exploratory analysis of cereal cultivation and wasting patterns of India

Abstract

Background: High prevalence of maternal malnutrition, low birth-weight and child malnutrition in India contribute substantially to the global malnutrition burden. Rural India has disproportionately higher levels of child malnutrition. Stunting and wasting are the primary determinants of malnutrition and their district-level distribution shows clustering in different geographies and regions. Methods: The last round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS4) has disaggregated data by district, enabling a more nuanced understanding of the prevalence of markers of malnutrition. We used data from NFHS4 and agricultural statistics datasets to analyse relationship of cereal cultivation with the prevalence of child malnutrition. We studied the current science on growth-related nutrient-sensing pathways to explain this pattern. Results: Stunting and wasting patterns across districts show a distinct geographical and age distribution; districts with higher wasting showed early prevalence of 40% at six months of age. Wasting was associated with higher cultivation of millets, with a stronger association seen for jowar and other millets. Low maternal BMI in districts with higher wasting could be linked to the consumption of millets as staple. We conceptualised a hypothetical schematic pathway linking early origin of wasting in children with millet-based diet, driven by inhibition of critical intra-cellular pathways controlling growth covering pre-natal, post-natal and early childhood. The analysis was limited by lack of fine-scale data on prevalence of low birth-weight and type of cereal consumed. Conclusions: Multi-site observational studies of long-term effects of type of cereals consumed could help explain the ecogeographic distribution of malnutrition in India. Cereals, particularly millets constitute the bulk of protein intake among the poor, especially in rural areas in India where wasting persists. Policies and programs targeting malnutrition need to address type of cereal consumed in order to impact childhood malnutrition in parts of India where subsistence cultivation of millets for staple consumption is prevalent.