India is demonstrating significant progress in reducing child malnutrition and enhancing maternal and child health. However, the rising incidences of obesity and diabetes pose a significant public health challenge, according to the recently released National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) for the years 2023-24.
The survey indicates a sharp rise in the proportion of women aged 15-49 classified as overweight or obese, increasing from 24% in NFHS-5 (2019-21) to 30.7% in NFHS-6. Similarly, the percentage among men rose from 22.9% to 27.3%. Additionally, the share of women with elevated blood sugar levels or those on medication for diabetes rose from 13.5% to 17.8%, while among men, it increased from 15.6% to 20.9%.
Several states exhibited concerning trends. Andhra Pradesh reported one of the highest obesity rates, with 47.9% of women aged 15-49 considered overweight or obese, and 21.8% exhibiting elevated blood sugar levels or medicating for diabetes. Goa also displayed alarming figures, recording 45.1% of women and 43.6% of men as overweight or obese, with more than a quarter of women (27.5%) and nearly a third of men (32.1%) having elevated blood sugar levels or taking medication. In Delhi, 42.7% of women were reported to be overweight or obese, and 19% had elevated blood sugar levels.
The findings illustrate that India is increasingly confronting a dual burden of disease. While undernutrition continues to challenge certain regions, the rapid rise of obesity, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases driven by changing diets, sedentary lifestyles, and an aging population is noteworthy.
Conversely, the survey highlighted significant advancements in child nutrition. The percentage of children under five years old who are stunted, a crucial indicator of chronic undernutrition, decreased from 35.5% in NFHS-5 to 29.3% in NFHS-6. Severe wasting dropped sharply from 7.7% to 5.2%, while the prevalence of underweight children showed a slight decline from 32.1% to 31.8%.
Indicators of maternal and child health also exhibited improvement. The proportion of mothers receiving at least four antenatal care visits rose from 58.5% to 65.2%, and the consumption of iron-folic acid supplements for at least 180 days during pregnancy increased from 26% to 37.8%. Institutional deliveries climbed from 88.6% to 90.6%.
Childhood immunization coverage progressed as well. Full vaccination rates among children aged 12-23 months increased from 76.6% to 82.6%, while the coverage for the second dose of the measles vaccine rose from 58.6% to 71.8%. Furthermore, coverage of the rotavirus vaccine more than doubled from 36.4% to 85.4%.
Broader social improvements were also observed. The proportion of women who have ever used the internet nearly doubled, rising from 33.3% to 64.3%. Additionally, the percentage of women with at least 10 years of education increased from 41% to 46.4%, and the incidence of child marriage declined from 23.3% to 20.1%.
Conducted across nearly 679,000 households, NFHS-6 is expected to inform future health and social policies and programs nationwide.
