Diet irony: Telangana counts its meals, not nutrition

Hyderabad: Have you ever wondered how many meals a person or family consumes in Telangana each month?

For individuals, it would be between 80 and 86 meals, while families, on average, consume 232 to 310 meals a month in Telangana, according to the ‘Nutrition Intake in India’ report released by the Union ministry of statistics and implementation.

Based on detailed data from 2023-2024, families in urban areas consumed an average of 262 meals per month, while families in rural areas consumed 304 meals in Telangana. Nationally, families consumed 279 meals in urban areas and 342 meals per month in rural areas.

The figure for individuals was 83 and 89 meals per month for urban and rural areas respectively in Telangana. These numbers were higher than the national averages for individuals, where in urban areas it was 75 meals and rural area it was 78 meals a month.

The data revealed that 6.8% of families in urban areas consumed less than 1,860 calories and nearly 50% of urban families consume more than 2,790 calories.

With prevalence of anaemia increasing in the state, health experts said that there was need for greater awareness regarding daily meal composition, especially in rural areas.

According to the National Family Health Survey Data-5, about 70% of children aged 6-59 months are anaemic in the state. Among women aged 15-49 years, the prevalence is 57.6%. The data also showed that anaemia is more common in females than males across different age groups.

Dr Subodh Kandamuthan, director of Dr Kakarla Subba Rao Centre for Health Care Management at ASCI, said, “There is a lot of ignorance in rural areas, especially regarding meal composition and what should be part of a healthy daily diet. Most importantly, we cannot assume that a low calorie count means people are suffering from malnutrition. Those with high calorie intake can also experience malnutrition if they don’t receive all the necessary nutrients. Iron content is often lacking in our meals, highlighting the need for increased awareness in rural areas.”