Food Consumption and Nutritional Status in India: Emerging Trends and Perspectives

The paper reviews the trends over three decades in the consumption of cereals, calories and micronutrients and nutritional status based on anthropometric measures using the data sets of NSS, NNMB and NFHS. It provides an explanation for the slow growth of nutrient intake and slow reduction in malnutrition. The paper demonstrates that multiple factors influence the nutritional well-being of a child and argues that besides improving the income of a household, there is a need to improve the health and educational status of mothers. 1 Keynote Paper for presentation at the 66 Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics held under the auspices of ICAR, Research Complex for N.E.H. Region, Umiam (Bara Pani), Meghalaya, November 8-10,2006.