BACKGROUND: Undernutrition in children seems to be one of the major health issues in developing nations including India. Stunting, underweight, and wasting are the three most often used anthropometric indicators to evaluate childhood undernutrition. Children who exhibit one or more indicators of undernutrition are considered as anthropometric failure (AF). The present study aims to determine the distribution and determinants of anthropometric failure in children under the age of five in different regions of India.

METHODS: NFHS-5 data, collected between 2019 and 2021, were utilized for the study. Pearson's chi-square (χ²) test was used to look into the association between categorical variables. Binary logistic regression was used to find the explanatory factors that influence anthropometric failure.

RESULTS: More than half of the under-five children (52.18%) in India are suffering from anthropometric failure, out of these West (57.88%), East (56.58%), and Central (53.94%) regions have covered half of the total occurrence. State-wise, Bihar (61.66%), followed by Gujarat (60.26%), and Jharkhand (58.05%) have recorded the highest rates of anthropometric failure. Anthropometric failure is higher among anemic children, boys, parent not alives, the higher number of birth order, lower educated mothers, rural dwellers, belonging to scheduled tribes and scheduled castes communities, living in nuclear families, and having lower household wealth indexes than their other counterparts.

CONCLUSION: These aspects imply that regional determinants should be taken into consideration when implementing child nutrition development programs.

KEYWORDS: Indian Regions, Anthropometric Failure, Child Undernutrition, Child Anemia, Public Health