Pale and Frail: Failing Status of Indian Women in Anemia and Nutrition

Despite consistent efforts from all quarters, the prevalence of anemia in India has not reduced for around 25 years and stands true for both pregnant and nonpregnant women. Moreover, there has been a shift in the malnutrition status of Indian women from being underweight during National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-2 to being overweight/obese during NFHS-5 by 13.4 percentage points, implying the concurrent increase of overweight and anemia among women of reproductive age, raising a serious public health concern. During NFHS-2, the prevalence of anemia was 51.8% which has increased to 57% during NFHS-5, and this varies across geographical regions. This study, therefore, examines determinants of anemia using various independent variables like social identity, wealth index, educational achievements, body mass index (BMI), food preferences, access to drinking water, etc., applying a multilevel logistic regression model using STATA. A separate section on the prevalence of anemia among pregnant and lactating women is included to understand the determinants including their compliance with iron and folic acid supplementation and antenatal services received. Results show that the prevalence of anemia is strongly associated with the education level of respondents and their family members, the economic condition of the household, and food preference.