Maharashtra Researchers Unveil Nine-Category Tool to Reclassify Child Malnutrition in India

Researchers affiliated with UNICEF and Maharashtra's National Health Mission have developed the Double Burden Index of Malnutrition (DBI-PNGR), a classification system that divides children into nine mutually exclusive nutritional categories rather than measuring overlapping conditions separately. Published in the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health and reported by The Week on October 22, 2026, the tool addresses a longstanding problem: a single child can simultaneously be stunted, wasted, and obese, yet existing indices count each condition independently, leading to double-counting and poor targeting of interventions. The nine categories range from normal growth to complex combinations of stunting, wasting, underweight, and obesity. Under current NFHS-6 national data, 19.9 percent of Indian children are stunted, 29.5 percent wasted, 31.4 percent underweight, and 1.5 percent obese. Lead researcher Dr Mrudula Phadke noted that management differs substantially by specific nutritional profile. The tool is designed for frontline Anganwadi health workers, enabling targeted interventions for each child's precise condition. Experts say the index could fundamentally change how India measures and responds to the child malnutrition burden.