India's National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) carries out diet and nutritional assessment surveys in the same villages in rural and tribal areas at 7- to 10-year intervals. After a baseline survey conducted in 1975-1979, repeat surveys were carried out in 1988-1989, 1996-1997, and 2011-2012.

In this third repeat survey, the prevalence of overweight/obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were assessed in addition to diet and nutritional status. Sociodemographic information and anthropometric measurements were collected, and clinical examinations performed on a total of 86,898 individuals from 23,889 households in 1,195 villages. Data on food and nutrient intake, as well as blood pressure and fasting blood glucose levels, were collected from a subset of the sampled population. Nearly 4,600 mothers of children less than 3 years of age were also interviewed on antenatal care, infant and child feeding practices, and other aspects of infant and child care.