Ethiopia and Tanzania have shown more improvement over time, seeing rates
drop by ten percentage points. In most of these cases rates of malnutrition
measured by low weight for age are less than half those in India. Despite simi-
lar low levels of income and a brutal civil war Sri Lanka has reduced levels of
malnutrition, according to both measures, to consistently around half of those
in India.
Malnutrition among adults is also widespread and higher in India and South
Asia than elsewhere. Nutrition in adults is often measured by the Body Mass
Index (BMI) which is defined as the ratio of weight (in kilos) to the square of
height (in metres). The standard cut-off point associated with ‘chronic energy
deficiency’ is a BMI of 18.5. The proportion of women aged 15 to 49 falling
below this level in the mid-2000s was high across South Asia – India 35.6 per
cent,Bangladesh 34.3 per cent and Nepal 24.4 per cent – and generally much
lower in Sub-Saharan Africa – Burkina Faso 20.8 per cent, Nigeria 15.2 per
cent, Ethiopia 26.5 per cent, Zimbabwe 9.3 per cent and Kenya 12.3 per cent
(Deaton and Drèze, 2009:54).
Thinking about Growth 35Table 1.4 Malnutrition, low height for agePercentage of children under five malnourishedIndia 48.5 (1997) 51.0 (1999) 47.9 (2006)
Bangladesh 59.7 (1997) 62.4 (1999) 47.0 (2006)
Sri Lanka 18.4 (2000) 19.2 (2009)
Malawi 63.6 (1998) 54.6 (2000) 53.2 (2006)
Zambia 57.9 (1999) 48.8 (2007)
Ethiopia 57.4 (2000) 44.2 (2011)
Tanzania 49.7 (1996) 44.4 (2004) 42.5 (2010)Source: Data compiled from World Development Indicators(2013).Table 1.5 Malnutrition, low weight for agePercentage of children under five malnourishedIndia 41.1 (1997) 44.4 (1999) 43.5 (2006)
Bangladesh 52.5 (1997) 52.0 (1999) 39.8 (2006)
Sri Lanka 22.8 (2000) 21.6 (2009)
Malawi 26.3 (1998) 21.5 (2000) 15.5 (2006)
Zambia 19.6 (1999) 14.9 (2007)
Ethiopia 42.0 (2000) 29.2 (2011)
Tanzania 26.9 (1996) 16.7 (2004) 16.2 (2010)Source: Data compiled from World Development Indicators(2013).