Undernutrition in children is the consequence of a range of factors which are often related to insufficient food intake, poor food quality, and severe and repeated infectious diseases. The inadequacy is relative to the food and nutrients needed to maintain good health, provide for growth and allow a level of physical activity (National Nutrition Policy, Government of India, 1993). Widespread poverty resulting in chronic and persistent hunger is the biggest scourge of the developing world today. Poverty, in turn, is closely linked to the overall standard of living and whether a population can meet its basic needs, such as access to food, housing, health care and education