National Family Health Survey-6: Kerala leads in women’s obesity and NCD prevalence

National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6/2023-24) data reveals a mixed picture for Kerala; While the state has made significant gains in immunization coverage, child nutrition, and maternal and child health, it has deepened concerns about the rapid increase in the burden of non-communicable diseases and obesity, especially among women.

NFHS-6 also reveals a very dark side of Kerala society; It is stated that reported intimate partner violence increased from 9.8% in NFHS-5 (2019-21) to 17.7% in NFHS-6. Another shameful development is that physical violence during pregnancy increased from 0.5% in NFHS-5 to 1.7% in NFHS-6. However, it needs to be examined closely whether this increase is due to the increase in news of violence or the increase in actual violence against women.

Increase in the population over the age of 60

Kerala’s aging demographic profile becomes even more stark in NFHS-6; The proportion of population over 60 years of age increases from 18.6% in NFHS-5 (2019-21) to 20.7% in NFHS-6 (2023-24); This rate is well above the national average of 12.9%. This demographic profile has profound implications for the State’s health system planning, social security spending and aged care and welfare policies, and is something the State is only just beginning to recognise.

Almost half of the adult female population in Kerala is obese or overweight; NFHS-6 increases the proportion of obese or overweight women in Kerala to 46.7% from 38.2% recorded in NFHS-5. This is well above the national average of 30.7% (an increase from 24% in NFHS-5).

About 37% of men in Kerala are overweight or obese; This rate is relative to the national average of 27.3%.

non-communicable diseases

The increasing burden of NCDs in the state has been well documented in many previous studies. NFHS-6 data shows that Kerala is far ahead of the national average when it comes to the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.

NFHS-6 shows the proportion of women aged 15-49 with high (systolic 141-160 mg/dl) or very high (systolic above 160 mg/dl) blood sugar and currently taking medication as 28.9% (national average 17.8%) and the proportion of men in the same category as 31.9% (national average (20.9%)).

In Kerala, about 36.6% and 31.9% of men have high blood pressure or hypertension and are taking medication; This rate corresponds to the national average of 22.1% and 19.4%, respectively.

The rapidly aging population and high prevalence of non-communicable diseases indicate that Kerala’s public health challenges ahead are enormous, which will have significant impacts on the state’s health expenditure as well as out-of-pocket health expenditure.

achievements

However, Kerala has made significant gains in immunization and nutritional status of children as per NFHS-6. The proportion of fully vaccinated children in the 12-13 month age group increased from 78.4% to 84.9% in NFHS-5. Rotavirus vaccination coverage (the vaccine was made part of the national vaccination program in 2019) showed a jump from 9.5% to 87.2%. Coverage of the second dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV2) also jumped from 31.9% to 83.3% between the two NFHS rounds. Approximately 95.2% of vaccination in the state is done in public hospitals.

child nutrition

When it comes to child nutrition, the rate of stunting in children under 5 has decreased from 23.4% to 20.1%; wastage shows a decrease from 15.8% to 10.9%; The proportion of underweight children decreased slightly from 19.7 percent to 17.8 percent, and the proportion of overweight children decreased marginally from 4 percent to 2.1 percent between NFHS 5 and 6.

Male alcohol consumption in the state currently stands at 22.7%, a slight increase from 19.9% ​​in NFHS-5, while tobacco use shows a slight decline from 16.9% to 15.9% in NFHS-6.

The NFHS-6 survey covered 6,79,238 households, 7,16,397 women and 1,00,977 men across the country. The number of households surveyed in Kerala was 13,005, out of which 11,187 respondents were women and 1,542 respondents.