Beyond the Great Indian Nutrition Debate

Taking on the argument that malnutrition in India is caused by forces that respond only partially to policy interventions, this article points out that it is important to look at the role of disease conditions - shaped by inadequate water, poor sanitation, and insufficient public health measures - in poor nutrition. Moreover, the relationship between disease and food intake is multiplicative rather than additive, and omission of disease conditions from the discourse biases any arguments made about income, caloric intake and nutrition. A holistic view shows that there is room to hope that the nutritional status of children in India will improve with the right policy emphasis.