India stems from a caste system, and existing societal stratification can be clearly seen in India’s contemporary culture. The direct impact of socioeconomic status can be seen in the geographic regions of India, with disproportionate concentrations of malnourished individuals in the poorer regions. Economic conditions in these regions also indirectly affect the availability of public health institutions, making addressing malnutrition among these communities almost impossible (Pathak & Singh, 2011). There have been recent increases in the disparity of malnutrition in poorer regions, and the results from this are strong. Individuals in the poorer regions of India’s low nutritional status lead way to poor physical development and many infectious diseases. The most economically disadvantaged people in India are malnourished, leading to a plethora of outcomes that follows them and makes their advancement in society even more difficult then India’s existing stratification already does (Pathak & Singh, …show more content…
One-third of Indian women are undernourished with 56% being deficient in iron along with other nutrients. Looking at explicitly women and malnutrition is important, as maternal malnutrition is likely to increase the risk of death during childbirth, as well as young children’s mortality (Jose, 2008). It is shown again and again that Indian women’s high rate of malnutrition is an outcome of gender inequality within Indian society, including gender bias within households when it comes to resource allocation. Poverty too plays a part in women’s malnutrition, with it sustaining malnutrition with women by preventing their advancement in society due to this gender bias (Jose, 2008). Women’s nutrition status also affects their child’s outcomes, as it limits the mother’s ability to leave the home, inhibiting the transmission of new knowledge about health and childcare (Fiorentini,