Outlook Poshan: Nutrition: Essential For A Healthy Mind
Nutrition: An Essential Ingredient For A Healthy Mind
Outlook Poshan, Kripa Jalan And Sharang Shah, 6 October 2020
(Image courtesy of Outlook Poshan)
Globally, massive strides have been made in the last few decades to improve both the quality of and access to healthcare, but this progress has been lopsided. While certain forms of healthcare such as maternal and child healthcare have greatly improved, others such as mental healthcare play laggard in achieving SDG coverage targets.
The WHO estimates that 25% of the world suffers or will suffer from a mental health issue at some point in their life. Closer to home, the National Mental Health Survey 2015-16 revealed that nearly 15% of Indian adults need active intervention for one or more mental health issues and one in 20 Indians suffers from depression. It is estimated that in 2012, India had over 258,000 suicides, with the age group of 15-49 years being most affected. COVID-19 has only ended up exacerbating the already grim situation.
