New Delhi, June 9 -- Findings of the sixth round of India's National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) conducted in 2023-24 were released recently.

On some counts, our progress has been remarkable, thanks partly to government efforts. Health insurance coverage expanded to about 60% of households in 2023-24 from just over 40% back in 2019-21, for example, and about 83% of children under 2 years of age have been fully vaccinated, compared to about 77% earlier.

What glares out, however, is its portrait of a country that's still underfed to an alarmingly large extent even as growing obesity signals a heavier health burden.

Nearly one-third of children under five remain underweight for their age and almost one-fifth too thin for their height. ...