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Background: National Family Health Survey (NFHS) documented that nearly 5.8 million children (6.4%) are undernourished in India which is l/3rd of the world's share. Objective: i) To assess the concomitant prevalence of severe wasting, severe stunting and severe underweight among children 6-59 months in a rural population of Northern India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2 blocks of district Meerut, Uttar Pradesh during 2013-2015. A total of 70 villages were included and all children in the age group of 6-59 months were covered by house to house visits. Data on socio-demographic profile and anthropometry was collected utilizing standards methods and equipment's. The Z-scores for weight-for-height (WFH), height-for-age (HFA), and weight-for-age (WFA) were calculated using WHO child growth standards. Results: A total of 19449 children in the age group of 6-59 months from house to house survey were approached. Out of 19449 children, 464 children were excluded due to erroneous age estimation; knock knees; physically handicapped and spinal deformities. Thus, 18985 children were enrolled for the present study. The weight, height and age were available for 18474, 18595 and 18983 children. The prevalence of severe wasting, severe stunting and severe underweight was found to be 2.2%, 16.2% and 12.2%, respectively. Concomitant presence of severe wasting, severe stunting and severe underweight was found in 0.9% (171/18,463) children. Conclusion: High prevalence of severe wasting, severe stunting and severe underweight was found in children from district Meerut indicating poor nutritional status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices during first 2 years of life is the key to ensuring optimal growth and development of the infant. Improving IYCF practices have an important role in reducing morbidity and mortality amongst under 5 children in India. Material & Methods: The secondary data from National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3 and NFHS-4 was analyzed. Objective: To assess the trend in IYCF practices during 2005 -- 2015 for 13 selected states of India. Results: It was found that over a decade, there has been an improvement in early initiation of breast feeding and exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months amongst infant in 11 out of 13 states. However, a reduction in the timely initiation of complementary feeding amongst children in the age group of 6-8 months has been observed in 9 out of 13 states. Conclusion: There is a need to strengthen the efforts to further improve the IYCF practices in India for reducing high rates of undernutrition in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]