India has made progress in reducing child undernutrition, but rising overweight and obesity present a growing challenge for food and nutrition policy. The National Family Health Survey 6 (NFHS-6), conducted in 2023–24, records a decline in child stunting from 48 percent in 2005–06 to 29.3 percent in 2023–24, while the proportion of underweight children fell from 42.5 percent to 31.8 percent. Progress on wasting has been largely stagnant. Over the same period, overweight or obesity among women aged 15–49 years increased from 12.6 percent to 30.7 percent, while the proportion among men rose from 9.3 percent to 27.3 percent. These trends expose a challenge for food policy: improving the quality and diversity of diets while protecting the food security gains achieved through existing agricultural and welfare arrangements.
The Double Burden Within Households
The double burden is particularly visible when maternal overweight or obesity coexists with child undernutrition within the same household. An analysis of NFHS-4 (2015–16) and NFHS-5 (2019–21) data suggests that the proportion of mother–child pairs in which the mother was overweight or obese and at least one child under five was stunted, wasted or underweight increased from 5.96 percent to 7.57 percent. In 2019–21, prevalence was higher in urban areas, at 11.1 percent, than in rural areas, at 6.27 percent. The increase between the two survey rounds, however, was more pronounced in rural areas. These findings demonstrate why nutrition policy must address both undernutrition and overnutrition within the same household.
The coexistence of these conditions does not necessarily imply a common cause. Maternal and child nutritional risks may reflect different dietary requirements, intra-household food allocation, epidemiological environment and access to healthcare. Addressing them requires closer coordination between maternal and child nutrition services and primary healthcare, rather than identical interventions for all household members. Anganwadi centres and frontline health workers could play a stronger role in identifying concurrent nutritional risks, providing appropriate counselling and facilitating referrals for clinical assessment and care. Delivery approaches should also reflect differences in nutritional needs and service access across states and between rural and urban areas.
Aligning Food Policy with Nutritional Needs
These household-level nutritional risks also expose a wider food policy challenge: whether agricultural production incentives and food systems adequately support access to diverse and nutritious diets. The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023–24 shows that food accounted for 47.04 percent of average monthly per capita expenditure in rural India, falling below half for the first time. Cereals accounted for approximately 5 percent of rural expenditure, while beverages, refreshments and processed food accounted for more than 11 percent of urban expenditure in 2023–24, up from about 9 percent in 2011–12. These figures indicate changing spending patterns, although expenditure shares alone cannot establish dietary quality or nutritional intake.
India’s agricultural support arrangements have historically prioritised the production and procurement of rice and wheat. These arrangements also serve food-security and farmer-income objectives, so diversification cannot simply mean withdrawing the existing support. The challenge is to determine how procurement, input support and market development can better accommodate pulses, millets, fruits and vegetables without undermining these objectives.
Production incentives are only one part of this challenge. Storage, transport, market access and household purchasing power also determine whether nutritious foods are available and affordable. Policy reform should, therefore, target arrangements that discourage diversification or restrict access to nutritious foods. Greater production diversity alone will not guarantee healthy diets unless households can obtain and afford the nutritious foods produced. Nor can changes in agricultural policy, by themselves, address the multiple causes of malnutrition.
Three Priorities for Policy Redesign
First, agricultural support should be assessed against nutritional objectives alongside production, food security and farmer incomes. This requires identifying where procurement, input support and supply-chain constraints impede diversification, and where adjustments could improve the availability and affordability of nutritious foods. Any redesign must account for farmers’ risks and preserve the food-security functions of existing arrangements. Policy performance should be measured through nutritional outcomes as well as production, procurement and programme coverage. Relevant indicators include child undernutrition, maternal overweight or obesity, the intra-household dual burden and access to diverse and nutritious affordable diets.
Second, Anganwadi centres, school feeding programmes and Poshan Abhiyaan provide an existing foundation for addressing nutritional needs. Greater emphasis on dietary diversity should be accompanied by better identification of households experiencing concurrent maternal and child nutritional risks. Frontline workers and primary healthcare staff need appropriate screening, counselling and referral arrangements so that identification leads to suitable services for each household member. Interventions should reflect local dietary conditions and be complemented by action on safe water, sanitation and hygiene, which also affect nutrition.
Third, clear nutritional information can help consumers make informed choices. In August 2026, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) proposed red hexagonal warning labels for packaged foods high in specified nutrients, including added sugar, saturated fat and salt. The initial proposal envisaged phased implementation, with the first phase largely covering products high in two or more nutrients of concern. In September, the Supreme Court questioned this distinction and sought greater clarity on the thresholds, design and implementation timeline.
An effective framework should ensure that products high in even one nutrient of concern are appropriately covered, with scientifically justified thresholds and a clear implementation schedule. Packaged-food labelling cannot, however, address unbranded street food and loose snacks, while affordability and availability constrain consumers’ choices. Food environment policy must, therefore, combine credible nutritional information with better access to affordable, healthier alternatives.
India’s response to its changing nutritional needs will depend on whether agricultural support, nutrition programmes and food regulation work towards a common goal: making diverse, nutritious diets both accessible and affordable. The measure of food policy success must extend beyond how much the country produces to whether its people are better nourished.