A Comparative Study on Body Mass Index and Prevalence of Chronic Energy Deficiency among Adult Male Lodhas and Munda of Bankura District of West Bengal, Eastern India

Siddhartha Sankar Dash; Partha Sarathi Bera; Kausik Chatterjee

Volume : VIII, Issue : III, March - 2019

A Comparative Study on Body Mass Index and Prevalence of Chronic Energy Deficiency among Adult Male Lodhas and Munda of Bankura District of West Bengal, Eastern India

Siddhartha Sankar Dash, Partha Sarathi Bera, Kausik Chatterjee

Abstract :

Background: The Health and nutritional status of an individual depends on the food he eats. Man needs a wide range of nutrients to lead a healthy and active life and these are derived through the diet they consume daily. Good nutrition is a basic component of health. Aim to report the anthropometric characteristics and nutritional status of adult male Lodha and Munda, two tribes of the Bankura District, West Bengal,India. A total of 157 Lodha and 161 Munda adult (>18 years) men from four villages located near Bishnupur town in Bankura District, West Bengal,India was investigated. Height and weight were recorded and the body mass index (BMI) computed using the standard equation. Nutritional status was evaluated using internationally accepted BMI guidelines. The public health problem of low BMI in these populations was classified according to the World Health Organization criteria Results Lodha males had significantly higher mean height (p<0.01), weight (p<0.001) and BMI (p<0.01) compared with Munda. Both Lodha (45.2%) as well as Munda (48.4%) males had similar high rates of chronic energy deficiency CED. According to the WHO classification of the public health problem of low BMI, the prevalence of CED was very high (_40%) in both these groups, indicating a serious situation. Conclusion Since the nutritional status of these two populations was unsatisfactory, immediate public health programs should be initiated to reduce the prevalence of CED.