<h5>What do you mean by zero-food children?</h5><p>Zero-food children are babies between six and 23 months old who haven't had any animal milk or solid or semi-solid foods in the last 24 hours. Newborns are usually breastfed.</p><p>But after six months, babies need more than just breastfeeding. They need extra nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals from other foods like milk and certain vegetables.</p><p>Babies who don't get this extra food for a day are called 'zero-food children.' A study found that many babies aged six to 23 months in India go without extra food for a whole day. The study was published in the journal JAMA Network Open.</p><h5>What has this study found?</h5><figure class="image"><img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/india-faces-zero-food-children-crisis%2FBaby%20being%20fed.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=88d465c8-aa69-47d7-97f5-e48b71878596"><figcaption>A baby being fed. Photo by The Better India.</figcaption></figure><p>The study looked at 92 low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). In terms of percentage, India is third, with 19.3% of children being zero-food children. Guinea (21.8%) and Mali (20.5%) are the top two.</p><p>However, in terms of numbers, India has the most 'zero-food' children, with 6.7 million (67 lakh). Nigeria and Pakistan are the next two countries.</p><p>The data for India comes from the National Family Health Survey 2019-2021. The study also says the COVID-19 pandemic might have increased the number of zero-food children in the country.</p><h5>What does this study highlight?</h5><p>The large number of zero-food children tells us that proper steps must be taken to ensure a child receives proper nutrition during their growing phase.</p><p>Luckily, the research also found that most of these children were breastfed. This shows that the little kids did not have completely empty stomachs and received some food.</p><h5>Is there any Indian government scheme to help provide nutrition to young children?</h5><p>Yes, there's a program called POSHAN Abhiyaan that started in March 2018. It's meant to make sure kids aged 0 to 6, young girls, and pregnant women get proper nutrition. It also wants to reduce stunting and wasting in children and anaemia in women, children, and girls.</p><p>However, malnutrition remains a big problem in India, especially among children. So, the government needs to make sure they have good plans in place to meet the country's children's nutritional needs.</p>

This was revealed in a study that was published recently.

India Faces 'Zero-Food Children' Crisis

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