Bhubaneswar: With studies indicating Odisha as one of the worst states in consumption of iodised salt, medical experts here have urged the government to formulate policies on proper enforcement and monitoring of consumption of the same.
In a first of its kind, a study conducted by Nutrition International in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Indian Coalition for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD) last month stated that Odisha, with only 65.8% households consuming iodine salt, rated fourth in top five worst states.
Tamil Nadu, the third biggest producer of salt in the country, with 61.9% featured the top state with the lowest consumption of iodised salt. This was followed by Andhra Pradesh (63.9%) and Rajasthan (65.5%). Jharkhand (68.8%) was one of the worst states, the study said.
“These reports indicate that Odisha has a lot to do in terms of improving the iodine sufficiency in the households. Iodine plays a key role in development of IQ in kids. Children living in iodine-deficient areas on an average have lower intelligence quotient (IQ), by as much as 13.5 IQ points as compared to children living in iodine-sufficient areas. Its deficiency can lead to goitre and cretinism, leading to development delays and other health challenges,” said Madsudhan Pattnaik, a city-based expert on health and nutrition.
The state’s apathy against iodine consumption can also be assessed from the fact that when a survey conducted by the Directorate General of Health Services, Indian Council of Medical Research in October last year found that 17 out of 30 districts were found to be massively under consuming iodine in their diets. The survey suggested that Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) in districts like Angul, Bargarh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Gajapati,Ganjam, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Khurda, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabrangpur, Nuapada, Puri, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Sundargarh was more than 5%. This is higher than the Government of India’s programme which aims to bring the prevalence of IDD to below 5% in the country.
Although, experts suggest that many in the country are prone to IDD due to deficiency of iodine in the soil and consequently the food derived from it. To combat the risk of IDD, salt is fortified with iodine. The survey also suggested that out 325 districts in India, 263 are IDD-endemic. This constituted to an estimated 350 million people in the country not consuming adequately iodized salt. “The reason for state’s poor performance is lack of awareness among people especially in rural and tribal areas. In rural households the buying pattern is based largely on the price of the salt rather the quality. The preference of non-iodised salt to iodised one exposes them to risks of a diet having lack or no iodine,” explained Sandeep Rout, who runs an NGO for rural health here.
The study conducted by Nutrition International also suggested something similar to Rout’s argument. As per the study, in the urban India, 47.8% bought salt based on the brand where as in rural India 41.2% purchase were made on the basis of price of salt.
Meanwhile, among those who had heard of iodised salt, around 74 per cent mentioned radio and television as their main source of information and around 21 per cent relied on information from the shopkeeper for their purchase.
Responding to this, a senior official at the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department commented, “We have implemented awareness programmes and policies that have increased iodine consumption in past decade. But to achieve a 100% usage we need help from other state departments. We have even asked the School and Mass Education Department to properly monitor the iodine intake of children in their mid-day meal.”