Passage-3
Malnutrition most commonly occurs between the ages of six months and two years. This happens despite

Question

Passage-3
Malnutrition most commonly occurs between the ages of six months and two years. This happens despite the child's food requirements being less than that of an older child. Malnutrition is often attributed to poverty, but it has been found that even in households where adults eat adequate quantities of food, more than 50 per cent of children-under-five do not consume enough food. The child's dependence on someone else to feed him/her is primarily responsible for the malnutrition. Very often the mother is working and the responsibility of feeding the young child is left to an older sibling. It is therefore crucial to increase awareness regarding the child's food needs and how to satisfy them.

According to the author, poverty is not the main cause of malnutrition, but the fact that

1. Taking care of younger ones is not a priority for working mothers.
2. Awareness of nutritional needs is not propagated by the Public Health authorities.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Accepted Answer

Statement 1 is supported by the passage: it states that the mother is working and the feeding responsibility is left to an older sibling, implying that working mothers are not prioritising the feeding of younger children.

Statement 2 is not supported: the passage mentions the need to increase awareness about the child's food needs, but does not attribute the gap to Public Health authorities failing to propagate this — the passage does not mention Public Health authorities at all.

Therefore only Statement 1 can be inferred from the passage. The correct answer is A.

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 only

Answer

Both 1 and 2

Answer

Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

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