India's total fertility rate falls from 2.2 to 2.0, obesity goes up: NFH survey
New Delhi, May 6: The report of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) revealed that the total fertility rate of India has gone down from 2.2 to 2.0, indicating the significant progress of population control measures.
Between NFHS-4 and 5, the national Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which is defined as the average number of children per woman, decreased from 2.2 to 2.0. Bihar (2.98), Meghalaya (2.91), Uttar Pradesh (2.35), Jharkhand (2.26) and Manipur (2.17) are the only states in India with fertility levels above the replacement level of 2.1.
The NFHS-5 survey was performed in about 6.37 lakh sample households across 707 districts in 28 states and 8 UTs, encompassing 7,24,115 women and 1,01,839 men to yield disaggregated estimates up to the district level.
The country's overall contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) has risen significantly from 54 percent to 67 percent.
"Use of modern methods of contraceptives has also increased in almost all States/UTs. Unmet needs for family planning have witnessed a significant decline from 13 per cent to 9 per cent. The unmet need for spacing, which remained a major issue in India in the past has come down to less than 10 per cent," read the statement.
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The NHFS-5 further added that institutional births have increased substantially from 79 percent to 89 percent in the country. Even in rural areas around 87% of births are delivered in institutions and the same is 94% in urban areas.
According to the report, stunting among children under the age of five has decreased slightly in India over the last four years, from 38 to 36 percent.
A significant drop in stunting has been observed in Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim (7 percentage points each), Jharkhand; Madhya Pradesh and Manipur (6 percentage points each); and Chandigarh and Bihar (5 percentage points each).
Meanwhile, in most States/UTs in NFHS-5, the prevalence of overweight or obesity has grown as compared to NFHS-4. At the national level, it rises from 21% to 24% among women and 19% to 23% among men. In Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Manipur, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Punjab, Chandigarh, and Lakshadweep, more than a third of women (34-46%) are overweight or obese.
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-PTC News
