A Study on Body Mass Index and Prevalence of Chronic Energy Deficiency among Adult Kharwar Tribes of India

Authors

  • Ajeet Jaiswal Pondicherry University

Keywords:

Chronic Energy Deficiency, Kharwar tribes, Nutritional Profile, Body Mass Index.

Abstract

TheHealthandnutritionalstatus of an individual depends on the food he eats. Man needs a widerange of nutrientsto lead a healthy and active life and these are derived through the diet they consume daily.Good nutrition is a basic component of health. This paper deals with the utility of various anthropometric cut-off points in the evaluation of nutritional & health status. The Kharwar is one of the Adavasi groups of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. “They are contemporary of Mundari speaking Indian tribes†and “racially they belong to Proto-Australoids†and “linguistically to Dravidian groupâ€. The traditional economic activities of the Kharwar have been agriculture and other wage earning labour. The objective of the present study is to investigate the nutritional status of adult Kharwar tribal. This cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of under nutrition using body mass index (BMI) among individuals of 18 years and above. A total of 151 (75 males and 76 females) adults from the different villages of Varanasi- Mirzapur District were measured. The result revealed that prevalence of under nutrition (age and sex combined) among Kharwar was 26.5 %. The sex specific rates were 33.3 % and 19.4 % among females and males, respectively. There was a highly significant sex difference in Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) prevalence based on BMI. Kharwar adults were experiencing serious situation, especially the women and oldest were experiencing the most serious situation with respect to their health and nutritional status.

Author Biography

Ajeet Jaiswal, Pondicherry University

Anthropology

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Published

2015-07-15

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Articles

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