Role of Micronutrients in control of Hidden Hunger

Presented By

Mukul Kumar Soni MSc. Ist Year

Applied Nutrition NIN

04/12/23 1

Hidden Hunger is defined as ...

Deficiencies in essential micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) in individuals or populations which negatively impact on health, cognition, function, survival, and economic development.

04/12/23 2

• Hidden hunger is a problem that impacts both the developing and the developed countries. The most obvious victims are in developing countries where the diet does not provide them with the variety of foods that ensure that they get the minerals and vitamins.

04/12/23 3

04/12/23 4

Fighting Hidden Hunger is important because…..

• It can increase Child and Maternal mortality.

• Limits the productivity and economic growth of nations.

• Contributes to global poverty.

04/12/23 5

The Impact of Hidden Hunger

• Globally, an estimated two billion people suffer from a chronic deficiency of essential vitamins and minerals (micronutrients).

• Micronutrient deficiencies account for appoximately 7% of the global disease burden.

04/12/23 6

• In most of the 20 countries with the highest Hidden Hunger Index scores, 40 percent of preschool children were estimated to be stunted, more than 30 percent were anaemic due to iron deficiency and more than half were vitamin A deficient.

Source: The Global Hidden Hunger Indices and Maps

04/12/237

Source: unicef

04/12/23 8

The Key Players in Hidden Hunger

• Vitamin A• Zinc• Iron• Iodine,• Folic acid,etc.

04/12/23 9

Vitamin A Deficiency

• Affects 40-60% of children under five in developing countries, compromising their immune systems, resulting in a millions deaths a year.

• Globally 5 million children under the age of five are affected with serious eye disorder, Xerophthalmia as a result of vitamin A deficiency

04/12/23 10

Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA)

• Moderate and severe IDA adversely affects immunity, cognitive and motor development, physical performance and reproductive health (premature birth, low birth weight and perinatal mortality). It is estimated that anaemia is the direct cause of maternal deaths in 20% and contributory cause in another 20%.

04/12/23 11

Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD)

• Goitre is the clinical manifestation of iodine deficiency disorder. The functional consequences are:

• Permanent brain damage, (cretinism, - mental retardation, and deaf mutism),

• Reproductive failure, and decreased child survival.

04/12/23 12

Zinc Deficiency

• Zinc is essential for growth and development. Zinc supplementation has been reported to help linear growth, reduce severity and duration of diarrhea, and respiratory infections and reduce child mortality.

04/12/23 13

Folate deficiency

• Is responsible for 20,0000 severe birth defects every year.

• Is associated with 1 in every 10 deaths from disease in adults.

04/12/23 14

Prevalence of Clinical signs of Micronutrients deficiencies

NNMB Technical Report No. 2204/12/23 15

04/12/23 16

Source: MND-NNMB, Tech Rep 22, 2003

04/12/23 17

04/12/23 18

NNMB Technical Report No. 2204/12/23 19

NNMB Technical Report No. 2204/12/23 20

Coverage for Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) Tablets Distribution under (NACP)

• In this programme supplements containing 100 mg of elemental iron + 500 μg folicacid are given to pregnant women for 100 days during pregnancy; 20 mg elemental iron and 100 μg folic acid are given daily to preschool children for 100 days in the year.

• The proportion of pregnant women who reportedly received iron & folic acid tablets ranged from a high 70-80% in the States Maharashtra (77.6%), Orissa (72.9%), West Bengal (70.6%), through 6 67% in the States of Karnataka (67.2%) and Tamil Nadu (62.4), about 50% in the States of Madhya Pradesh (51.2%) and Andhra Pradesh (48.5), to a low 38.2% in the State of Kerala.

NNMB Technical Report No. 22

sources: Indian National Science Academy04/12/23 21

Coverage under Massive Dose Vitamin A

Programme

• In this programme children between 6-60 months are given 200,000 IU of vitamin A, every six months as prophylactic dose. Vitamin A being fat soluble, is stored in the liver and a massive dose would ensure adequate storage to last for at least 6 months.

• About 58% of the preschool children reportedly received at least one dose of massive vitamin A.

• The extent of coverage was maximum in the State of Orissa(80%), followed by Tamil Nadum(63%), Karnataka (56.5%), the States of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh (51-53%), with the least being in Kerala (44%).

NNMB Technical Report No. 2204/12/23 22

Association of Socio-economic and Demographic Variables with the Prevalence of Micronutrient

Deficiencies – Multivariate Analysis

• The analysis revealed that the risk of developing Bitot spots was twice in the children of SC/ST communities as compared to the children of other communities.

• The risk of having goiter was seven times higher among children belonging to Muslim and six times higher among Hindu communities, compared to Christians.

• The risk of developing anaemia was two folds higher among the preschool children belonging to Hindu and Muslim religion compared to Christians

04/12/23 23

Source: The Global Hidden Hunger Indices and Maps:04/12/23 24

04/12/23 25