In India, around 46% of all children below the age of three are too small for their age, 47% are underweight and at least 16% are wasted. Many of these children are severely malnourished. Malnutrition in early childhood has serious, long-term consequences because it impedes motor, sensory, cognitive, social and emotional development. Malnourished children are less likely to perform well in school and more likely to grow into malnourished adults, at greater risk of disease and early death. Around one-third of all adult women are underweight. Inadequate care of women and girls, especially during pregnancy, results in low birth weight babies. Nearly 30% of all newborns have a low birth weight, making them vulnerable to further malnutrition and disease.