Assessment of nutritional status in respect of Anthropometric Profile among the Indigenous Santal children of Santuri Block, Purulia, West Bengal

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of undernutrition is higher among the tribal population with respect to all anthropometric measures. The prevalence is twice as high among the economically indigent families. The situation is worse among the girl children. Santals are predominantly distributed in different parts of West Bengal. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study aimed to assess age and sex variation in nutritional status with respect to anthropometric profile among the Santal primary school-going children aged 5 to 9 years of Santuri block, Purulia, West Bengal. Materials and methods: A total of 200 children (58 boys and 142 girls) were included. Height, weight and body mass index of the children were converted into age-specific Z-scores. Under- (stunting, underweight and thinness) and over-nutrition (overweight and obesity) based on age and sex-specific Z-score were assessed as per the criteria of WHO, 2003. Results: The majority of the children were found with normal HAZ, WAZ and BMIZ. Prevalence of under-nutrition (3% stunting, 0.5% underweight and 1% thinness) and over-nutrition was very low. It is noteworthy that the prevalence of both under- and over-nutrition is higher among girls than boys; all the over-nourished children were girls. Conclusion: The population is mostly normal in nutritional status. Effective measures should be taken to eradicate the existence of malnutrition with a special focus on girls.