Wasting
Topic: Human Capital: Education, Health and Demographic Dividend · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Wasting means a child is too thin for their height. Under WHO growth standards, a child is counted as wasted if their weight-for-height is more than 2 standard deviations below the median. It reflects recent (acute) undernutrition, usually from a sudden food shortage or an illness such as diarrhoea. A wasted child faces a higher risk of death, but can recover with quick feeding and treatment.
Example
NFHS-5 (2019-21) found 19.3% of Indian children under 5 wasted, which is about one in five.
Don't confuse with
- Stunting: this is low height for age. It shows long-term undernutrition and is much harder to reverse.
- Underweight: this is low weight for age. It mixes chronic and acute undernutrition.