Table 2.
Sample size (n) and prevalence (%) of food items not consumed in the last 24 hours by children (6 to 23 months) from the five National Family Health Surveys, 1993-2021
| Food (Including Milk) | NFHS-1 (1992-93) | NFHS-2 (1998-99) | NFHS-3 (2005-06) | NFHS-4 (2015-16) | NFHS-5 (2019-21) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Solid or Mushy Food | 4861 (34.6%) | - | - | - | - |
| Any other Solid or Mushy Food | - | 5,169 (35.4%) | - | - | - |
| Any other Solid or Semi-Solid Food | - | - | 10,875 (79.6%) | - | - |
| Any other Solid, Semi-Solid, or Soft Food | - | - | - | 55,707 (78.2%) | 46,696 (75.4%) |
| Fruits and Vegetables | |||||
| Green, Leafy Vegetables | - | 10,401 (71.2%) | - | - | - |
| Any Dark Green, Leafy Vegetables | - | - | 10,294 (75.4%) | 49,693 (69.8%) | 41,042 (66.2%) |
| Any Pumpkin, Carrots or Sweet Potatoes that are Yellow or Orange inside | - | - | 11,809 (86.5%) | - | - |
| Any Pumpkin, Carrots, Squash or Sweet Potatoes that are Yellow or Orange inside | - | - | - | 56,501 (79.3%) | 47,131 (76.1%) |
| Fruits | - | 10,778 (73.7%) | - | - | - |
| Any Ripe Mangoes, Papayas, Cantaloupe, or Jackfruit | - | - | 11,808 (86.4%) | 57,828 (81.2%) | 51,730 (83.5%) |
| Any other Fruits or Vegetables | - | - | 11,150 (81.2%) | 53,931 (75.7%) | 43,795 (70.7%) |
| Grains, Roots, and Tubers | |||||
| Any Porridge or Gruel | - | - | 10,194 (74.6%) | - | - |
| Any Bread, Roti, Chapati, Rice, Noodles, Biscuits, Idli or Any other Foods made from Grains | - | - | 3,732 (27.4%) | 24,946 (35%) | 24,614 (39.7%) |
| Any White Potatoes, White Yams, Cassava, or Any other Foods made from Roots | - | - | 10,754 (78.7%) | - | - |
| Any White Potatoes, White Yams, Manioc, Cassava, or Any other Foods made from Roots | - | - | - | 55,010 (77.2%) | 45,188 (72.9%) |
| Any Foods made from Beans, Peas, Lentils | - | - | 12,058 (88.3%) | - | - |
| Any Foods made from Beans, Peas, Lentils, or Nuts | - | - | - | 60,980 (85.6%) | 50,405 (81.3%) |
| Any Nuts | - | - | 12,749 (93.3%) | - | - |
| Meat/Non-Vegetarian | |||||
| Any Liver, Kidney, Heart or other Organ Meats | - | - | 13,364 (97.8%) | 66,908 (93.9%) | 57,544 (92.8%) |
| Any other Meat | - | - | 13,222 (96.8%) | 67,678 (95.0%) | 58,330 (94.1%) |
| Any Chicken, Duck or other Birds | - | - | 13,387 (98%) | 66,726 (93.7%) | 57,117 (92.2%) |
| Any Eggs | - | - | 12,561 (92%) | 60,765 (85.3%) | 50,705 (81.8%) |
| Any Fresh or Dried Fish or Shellfish | - | - | 12,754 (93.4%) | 67,287 (94.5%) | 58,029 (93.6%) |
| Dairy Products | |||||
| Any other Milk such as Tinned, Powdered, or Fresh Animal Milk | - | - | 6,910 (50.6%) | 43,302 (60.8%) | 37,136 (59.9%) |
| Yogurt | - | - | - | 65,236 (91.6%) | 56,000 (90.4%) |
| Any Cheese or other Food made from Milk | - | - | - | 63,981 (89.8%) | 53,763 (86.7%) |
| Any Cheese, Yogurt or other Milk Products | - | - | 11,902 (87.1%) | - | - |
| Any Food made with Oil, Fat, Ghee or Butter | - | - | 11,679 (85.5%) | - | - |
| Tinned/Powdered Milk | 13,292 (94.6%) | - | - | - | - |
| Fresh Milk | 7,484 (53.3%) | - | - | - | - |
| Powdered Milk | - | 13,648 (93.3%) | - | - | - |
| Any other Milk (other than Breast Milk) | - | 7,222 (49.4%) | - | - | - |
| Formula Food | |||||
| Baby Formula | 12,778 (91%) | - | - | - | - |
| Commercially Produced Infant Formula | - | - | 11,873 (86.9%) | - | - |
| Infant Formula | - | - | - | 64,242 (90.2%) | 54,527 (88%) |
| Any Commercially Fortified Baby Food such as Cerelac or Farex | - | - | 11,150 (81.6%) | 60,486 (84.9%) | 51,821 (83.6%) |
| Liquid Food (Excluding Milk) | |||||
| Any other Liquids | 8,249 (58.8%) | 8,473 (58%) | 11,185 (81.9%) | 55,970 (78.5%) | 47,867 (77.2%) |
| Juice or Juice Drinks | - | - | - | 57,287 (80.3%) | 48,085 (77.6%) |
| Juice | 12,757 (90.9%) | - | - | - | - |
| Fruit Juice | - | - | 12,205 (89.3%) | - | - |
| Clear Broth | - | - | - | 58,933 (82.6%) | 49,468 (79.8%) |
| Sugar/Honey Water | 12,451 (88.7%) | - | - | - | - |
| Tea | 8,695 (62.0%) | - | - | - | - |
| Tea or Coffee | - | - | 8,282 (60.8%) | - | - |
Note: “-” represents food items not asked in the respective survey. For each survey, Zero-Food was calculated separately based on the food items asked under the "Food (Including Milk)” and includes children who did not have any of the listed food categories. Calculation of Zero-Food* also included items asked under the heading, “Liquid Food (Excluding Milk)”.