Chandigarh, July 12: Chandigarh has registered the highest increase in the prevalence of underweight children under the age of five among all eight union territories, according to the latest National Family Health Survey data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The prevalence rate in the city climbed significantly from 20.6% in the 2019-20 survey to 31.6% in the 2023-24 period, placing Chandigarh second overall in total prevalence behind Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
The health department reported that the upward trend extends across other critical indicators of child malnutrition as well. The percentage of children experiencing moderate acute malnutrition, classified as wasted, more than doubled from 8.4% to 19.5%, while the severe acute malnutrition indicator rose from 2.3% to 3.3%. This specific classification describes children who are extremely underweight for their height, exposing them to a heightened risk of serious illness.
Medical experts noted that the implications of being underweight and malnourished include hindered physical growth, weakened immunity, a higher susceptibility to infections, and delayed cognitive development. The increase stands in sharp contrast to other union territories, such as Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, which successfully reduced their numbers during the same timeframe.
Local health administrators attributed the findings to a complex mix of maternal health and demographic shifts rather than a single source. Premature births, high-risk pregnancies, maternal anemia, and conditions like gestational diabetes or hypertension regularly impact a newborn’s development, while a large influx of migrant families introduces distinct socio-economic challenges.
“If the mother is anemic or managing a high-risk pregnancy, the health of the child is bound to get affected, resulting in underweight and other conditions,” a health official overseeing the central government’s reproductive and child health programme in Chandigarh stated. “We are actively inspecting the exact causes behind this increase in the prevalence rate.”
Department leaders confirmed that internal assessments are underway to address the underlying challenges within the urban population.
“There are multiple reasons responsible for underweight children, including premature birth, high-risk pregnancies, and malnourishment,” Sadbhavna Pandit, acting director of the union territory’s health and family welfare department, asserted. “The socio-economic factor also plays a major role, with a large segment of the population in Chandigarh being migrant and belonging to other states.”
