Odisha’s Uneven Nutrition Transition Risks Burden of Malnutrition

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Despite food security schemes and improved availability, Odisha grapples with persistent undernutrition and rising obesity, exposing deep dietary and regional disparities.

By MAYADHAR SETHY

BHUBANESWAR, August 3, 2025 — Ending hunger, food insecurity, and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 remains a key Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Yet, this target appears increasingly out of reach—particularly in regions like Odisha, where food sufficiency coexists with hidden hunger, micronutrient deficiencies, and rising overnutrition.

Odisha’s experience reflects a paradox increasingly common across India: even as food availability expands and welfare systems mature, malnutrition persists in both old and new forms.

Malnutrition today is no longer just about hunger—it’s about the lack of access to healthy, affordable, and balanced diets. India’s achievements in food production and public food distribution are well known.

Yet the country continues to face one of the world’s highest burdens of child undernutrition. According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21), 36% of Indian children under five are stunted, 32% are underweight, and 67.1% are anaemic—higher than previous rounds.

In Odisha, 57% of women aged 15–49 are anaemic, while at the other end of the spectrum, overweight and obesity are rising rapidly among the urban middle class. This double burden of malnutrition marks an incomplete and uneven nutrition transition.

The causes are structural. In Odisha, food insecurity is not merely about supply shortages; it is about unequal access, affordability, and poor dietary quality. Flagship schemes like the Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-Day Meal Scheme, and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) have improved caloric intake but remain limited in scope.

The PDS, for instance, continues to focus predominantly on rice, offering little nutritional diversity. As a result, many households still lack regular access to micronutrient-rich foods such as pulses, fruits, vegetables, and proteins.

These nutritional deficiencies vary across Odisha’s three socio-geographic zones—coastal, southern, and northern. Coastal districts like Khordha, Cuttack, and Puri have witnessed a sharp rise in processed food consumption, stoked by urbanisation, rising incomes, and lifestyle shifts.

In contrast, southern Odisha, home to many tribal communities, retains traditional diets of millets, pulses, tubers, and foraged greens—nutrient-dense and climate-resilient, yet often overlooked in official data and policy.

Northern Odisha, especially districts like Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh, presents a mixed picture: traditional staples coexist with growing consumption of edible oils and convenience foods, reflecting industrialisation and evolving food markets.

Data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)—specifically the 68th (2011–12) and 79th (2022–23) rounds—further illustrate this transition. While calorie and fat intake has increased for higher-income, urban households, dietary diversity has declined among both the poorest and richest segments.

The poor continue to rely on low-cost staples—mainly rice and dal—to hedge against economic shocks, while wealthier groups increasingly consume ultra-processed, nutrient-poor foods.

Only middle-income households show slightly greater dietary diversity, often due to cautious but increasing exposure to broader food groups.

These patterns reflect a broader global shift long noted by nutrition scholars. As Barry Popkin and others have described, the “nutrition transition”—a structural dietary shift linked to industrialisation and urbanisation—has led to rising obesity and lifestyle-related diseases worldwide.

In India, economic liberalisation in the 1990s accelerated access to processed foods and packaged dairy, fuelling this shift (Pingali & Khwaja, 2004; Meenakshi & Ray, 2021). Odisha, though a later entrant to this phase, is now firmly embedded in it—especially in its more urbanised districts.

Policy Rethink: From Calories to Nutrition

To address this challenge, Odisha must move beyond rice-centric food provisioning and focus on nutrition security. Public distribution should include pulses, millets, fortified foods, and edible oils—a feasible strategy given India’s procurement infrastructure.

Equally vital is policy recognition of Odisha’s traditional food systems, particularly in southern tribal districts. Millets, tubers, and forest foods are nutritionally rich and ecologically sustainable. Integrating them into school meals, community kitchens, and public awareness campaigns can drive more sustainable and inclusive dietary change.

Infrastructure also matters. Investing in cold chains, rural-urban food linkages, and transport systems is essential to ensure perishable, nutrient-dense foods reach every household—not just those in cities. Smallholder farmers can benefit from improved market access and value chains that incentivize crop diversity.

Lastly, nutrition equity must be central to food policy. Access to diverse, healthy diets is shaped by income, education, caste, and geography. Effective interventions must be tailored accordingly, with public health campaigns, behaviour change programs, and local governance tools shaping inclusive food environments.

As climate risks rise and global food systems remain under pressure, Odisha must act with foresight. The state’s challenge is no longer just ending hunger—but ensuring nutrition for all. A visionary food policy must combine traditional resilience with modern adequacy, ensuring that every meal on every table is not just filling—but truly nourishing.

(This is an opinion piece, and views expressed are those of the author only)