The Cyberabad Times

Picture this: In a remote village of the state, aanganwadi workers visit each house where a woman has delivered, not only to check on the mother's health but also the newborn baby's weight. Aanganwadi workers across the country do the same and document the weight of new-born babies. It may appear to be a simple exercise but scientists at the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) say this labour-intensive exercise, termed 'National Nutrition Surveillance Systems', if implemented, holds the key to a correct estimate of lowbirth weights in India, which is at present estimated at 30 per cent. The 30 per cent figure, although alarming, could be a conservative estimate, given that several deliveries go unnoticed and unregistered. The surveillance system, once implemented, would give an accurate estimate. This system is just one of the many projects that scientists at this octogenarian institute are presently working on. From making the food that people eat safer and more nutritive to conducting researches on improving nutritional levels in the country, particularly among women and children and planning nation-wide projects such as the surveillance system -- these are just a couple of examples of what keeps scientists at NIN busy. Scientists here have been trying to figure out a way to tackle iron deficiency and anaemia in women, particularly those in the reproductive age group. "The main reason for iron deficiency is its poor absorption. We demonstrated how Vitamin C improves iron absorption in the body,'' said the institute's deputy director K V Rameshwar Sarma. He added that NIN has also developed the process for double fortification of salt with both iron and iodine for combating the twin problem of anaemia and goitre. Turmeric as an anti-cancer agent in clinical trials was demonstrated by NIN's Drug Toxicology Division. Researches on the nutritive values of different foods, detecting pesticide content in foods to improving birth weights, not just by improving diets but also strengthening grassroot level workers with information on how to go about distributing nutritional supplements are ongoing programmes at the rather serene institute set up amidst a sprawling green lawn. The institute comes under the Indian Council of Medical Research and carries out need-based research on nutrition science and feeds the government with information that would help it control and eradicate nutrition related problems. However, this institute's biggest constraint, which is a veritable house of valuable information, is that it is not an implementing body. While it does have an advocacy cell to create awareness among people on their diets, its well-conceived strategic plans such as the surveillance system can be implemented only by the government.The institute's books on good nutritional habits, foods and even low cost balanced diet recipes are examples of complex research simplified for the common citizen's benefit. Several research institutes across the country are dependent on this institute's National Centre for Laboratory Animal Sciences that supplies nearly two lakh laboratory animals to more than 160 institutions across the country.

NIN for better living

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