Belgaum tops list of underweight kids

Belgaum has the highest number of severely underweight children, reveals a medical report on malnourished children in the State, released by the Department of Health and Family Welfare (DHFW).

According to the report, 62,739 children in the state are malnourished and severely underweight and Belgaum is the worst hit with 6,929 severely underweight children. Raichur comes a close second with 5,535

children followed by Bellary with 4,612.

These numbers were revealed following health check-up camps for children aged below six years conducted in the first week of December at anganwadi centres and primary health centres (PHC) across the state.

Following a High Court directive, it was decided to hold screening camps to check malnutrition among children of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers every two months instead of every three months.

Meanwhile, the data released on Thursday said that 44 lakh children who were enrolled in anganwadis weighed in addition to another 65 lakh children who were not enrolled under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).

As many as 58,900 ICDS children were found to be severely underweight.

The 13,373 children, who were not beneficiaries of the ICDS, fell in the category of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) were examined by doctors in PHCs and Urban Health Centres (UHC) and pediatricians of other hospitals, said the report.

Pregnant women and lactating mothers

In the same health check up camps, 48,933 pregnant women were examined for body mass index (BMI), respiratory disorders, problems related to the abdominal system, among other examinations.

It was found that 2,247 pregnant women had BMI less than 18.5 which indicates that they are underweight. Among the 39,735 lactating mothers examined, 1,740 were underweight.