S V Subramanian and Rockli Kim, along with their colleague Omar Karlsson, have authored a timely commentary published in The Lancet Global Health in which they caution policy makers in India — who are currently reformulating India’s flagship nutrition program, POSHAN Abhiyaan — about utilizing the stunting metric to determine the effectiveness of interventions targeting child undernutrition. Since the height of a child is partially genetically determined by the height of his/her mother, it may not be an accurate reflection of the nutritional status of a child, or the effectiveness of an intervention.
Researchers call into question the accuracy of using stunting as a metric for measuring undernutrition among children in India
