When the news trickled in that the Indian junior women hockey team had clinched a bronze in the World Cup hockey tourney, it made a media splash on the national and even on the state level since there were three players from Manipur in the winning team. Not many gave a passing interest in another media story that was linked to the hockey team but also to the larger issue of nutrition levels in the country. The news report while quoting a former foreign coach said that seven players of the bronze winning team were suffering from anaemia, an iron deficiency disorder which leads to tiredness and lethargy. This particular news report brought in some reality about India in terms of its support or the lack of it for its sporting pool and the overall malnutrition levels existing in the country. At one level, a majority of sportspersons in the country belongs to very impoverished backgrounds where a medal or a big win is a ticket for cash awards and a job in the Government sector. The general levels of malnutrition prevalent in the country amongst the lower income families from which the country’s sportspersons are drawn aided by the fact that most sporting apart from cricket and to a lesser extent, tennis does not get much support in terms of finances or other resources means that there is a strong reality of sportspersons going on the field to battle it out, despite being at a disadvantage of being affected by various after effects of being malnourished. In fact, malnourishment is a growing concern for India which otherwise is being pegged as a growing super power and has far reaching consequences on the mortality, mental and physical health of those affected. In a stark reminder of the vast gap between the food habits of the haves and the have nots though, there is a growing trend of obesity among the upwardly mobile and socially elite class while the lower income families are afflicted by malnourishment and the lack of a proper diet. The 2013 Series on Maternal and Child Nutrition published in The Lancet, highlights that almost half of all child deaths in the world today are the result of poor nutrition. Though the National Health and Family Health survey does have a section on the levels of nutrition of children across the states in the country, it is a fact that the survey reports are not updated regularly and neither is there any official data on the levels of overall in the nutrition in the country yet.
Despite the lack of official data, the impact of malnourishment on the health and economy of the country is just waiting to be seen and taken note of. Apart from the lack of nutrition leading to higher mortality among young children and growing infants, the lack of growth among children that is visible in the stunting of children is a visible sign of the lack of a proper diet. Interestingly, the health conditions of women in the country are both an indicator of patriarchal practices and the lack of importance given to it. The traditional practice in most societies in the country is for women to eat later than men and to have a larger and better portion of food served to the men. A life long practice of saving the best of food for the men in the family on one hand while having to put in longer hours of physical work in the household puts a health burden on the women who over time will be caught up with body pain, weakening of bones and a host of other health conditions. A more scientific study is yet to be taken on the issue and there is no denying that such a study on the patterns of diet and food habits in the state could be significant. If such a study were to be taken up, it would be interesting to see if at all the cultural or rather religious aspects in terms of what food can be eaten in any way also contribute to the growth patterns of a particular generation. It is accepted knowledge that while today’s generation is less restricted in terms of eating meat and other poultry products, there was a certain phase when the growing hold of Hinduism led to a food taboo on such food components. Interestingly, present food trends among the economically better population in India are again centered on packed foods which is giving cause for concern over the nutrition levels as well as safety standards. Clearly, the food we eat needs much careful thought!