- Not too long ago, the majority of people believed that urban dwellers enjoyed considerable advantages as compared to their rural counterparts in literally every aspect associated with leading daily lives. Mind you, urban dwellers had access to modernity-defined amenities, better infrastructure, sound education ecosystem, appropriate healthcare facilities, transportation, and of course, nutrition in terms of food/vegetables/fruits. No wonder, the influx into cities from the rural areas continues to this day for the hopes of leading a better life lures scores of people to migrate. Who does not wish to lead a better life where every conceivable modern amenities are available without having to worry much? Trust me, most of us would love to call cities our homes.
PC: freepik
- Better opportunities and promise of decent enough earnings ensure the exodus of migrants into cities stays perpetually on. However, as reported in prominent newspapers recently, certain questions are being raised about the viability of growing up in a city in comparison to a village. This question is especially related to the healthy growth trajectory of children representing the urban milieu and rural settings. Remember, India’s rural areas showed a significant Body Mass Index (BMI) disadvantage in the 1990s. Thanks to improvements in sanitation, nutrition, and healthcare, successive cohorts of children and adolescents have narrowed the rural lag. What was glaringly visible not so long ago appears to have been bridged over the last few years. Or is it?
- Positively speaking, that’s the glass half full. On the half-empty side and in a worrying sign of things, children growing up in cities are not showing the expected growth. Interestingly, as a global analysis conducted by Imperial College London, published in Nature, and highlighted by a prominent newspaper finds, this is a trend across middle-income countries and emerging economies. They are beginning to mirror high-income countries’ relatively small urban-rural height differentials. As it is, India as a country struggles to meet the nutritional requirements leading to rampant malnourishment among children, especially from the lower strata of society, irrespective of representing urban or rural dwellings.
PC: freepik
- Disconcertingly, the worry for India is that the rapid decline in nutritional deficiencies and malnourishment in rural areas is going hand in hand with certain urban environments destroying all benefits of better access to healthcare and education in the city. Indeed, the risks of being either undernourished or obese rise here. Particularly in city slums, children grow up amidst poor sanitation and polluted air and without enough space to play. And the risks get magnified for rural-urban migrants. Plus, low levels of physical activity, worsened by increased intake of junk foods add to the concerns. Thus, planned urbanization rather than the slummification of rural India is desirable. Raising consciousness about healthy food habits is imperative as well.
