ICMR to survey country's nutrition in an unprecedented manner in a new survey

Taking up the gauntlet against alarming malnutrition in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research has announced a new comprehensive national nutrition survey, unlike any done before.

This survey aims to unite the efforts and data of all scattered surveys that have happened in the country, the Rapid Action Survey of Children (RSoC), the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) for example,and bring on board as equal stakeholders the union ministries of health, women and child development and agriculture.

Unlike the previous surveys, which have concentrated on data for body weight, such as stunting, wasting and being underweight, the proposed project will take into account new markers -- metabolism, macro and micro nutrients profiles, infant and young child feeding practices by region, level of physical activity and most importantly dietary patterns, ICMR DG Dr Soumya Swaminathan told the press. Speaking after a day long consultation on the matter with ministry representative and scientists from ICMR's affiliated research bodies, Swaminathan said that dietary patterns had only ever been studied by the National Institute of Nutrition, the oldest research body in the country. NIN's director, Dr Thingnganing Longvah, added that before being shut down previously for "administrative reasons", NIN's National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) had studied nutrition thus since 1994. This survey, which will be done through NIN, takes the previous studies forward.

However, before the pilot is launched, the survey has to be designed in an intelligent comprehensive manner, knitting together all the scattered factors that influence nutrition in the country. Making no light of the leviathan task ahead of her, Swaminathan told dna about some of the hindrances expected.

One such is the staff required to collect the data digitally. Either the NIN hires it's own staff, or it works with people already employed by existing ministry run programmes, which could include tapping into ASHA and Anganwadi workers. "If we work with programme people it will require training and monitoring them," she said. Though the ministry liaison Dr Ajay Khera spoke much of a two way dialogue between researcher and implementers, Swaminathan's worry is real, as data collection at grassroots level is a long standing problem. For example, at a previous seminar held on nutrition organised by the think tank Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, public health experts and former bureaucrats had spoken of data being manipulated at these levels to show officers in better light.

Another possible problem could be how certain food habits are mired in controversy, such as eggs and cheap meat like beef. Though, as Swaminathan said there is no study at the moment on how nutrition has been impacted by these factors, such as Madhya Pradesh removing eggs, a known protein source from the meals of school children, thanks to the NNMB data "we know exactly what people are eating" and can study such an impact in the future.

However, the pilot of the survey will only be launched in the end of 2016.

Along with one for the survey, ICMR formed other task forces to study why anemia levels haven't fallen in the country despite iron folic acid programme, and on the rising Vitamin D deficiency, which has been recognised as a public health problem but needs further study before a policy is framed.