A program aimed at helping children with malnutrition has assisted about 400,000 youngsters in 300 underdeveloped counties in 21 provinces since 2012, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Chen Chunming, a consultant at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the rate of delayed growth among children under 5 in rural areas - with lack of nutrition an important cause - was 10 percent in 2010.

The rate in more underdeveloped areas rose to 20 percent, Chen said.