Contribution of indigenous foods towards nutrient intakes and nutritional status of women in the Santhal tribal community of Jharkhand, India

Abstract

Objective: The indigenous food environment, dietary intake and nutritional status of women in the Santhal tribal community of Jharkhand were assessed. Contribution of indigenous foods to nutritional status and nutrient intakes was explored. Design: Exploratory cross-sectional study with a longitudinal dietary intake assessment component. Household and dietary surveys were conducted to elicit information on socio-economic and demographic profile and food consumption patterns at household level. A 24 h dietary recall for two consecutive days (repeat surveys in two more seasons) and anthropometric assessments were carried out on one woman per household. Setting: Households (n 151) with at least one woman of reproductive age in four villages of Godda district of Jharkhand, India. Subjects: Women aged 15-49 years. Results: Almost all households owned agricultural land and grew fruits and vegetables in backyards for household consumption. A wide variety of indigenous foods were reported but dietary recalls revealed low intake. Women consumed adequate energy and protein but micronutrient intake was inadequate (less than 66 % of recommended) in the majority (more than 50 %) for Ca, Fe, vitamin B 2 , folate and vitamin B 12 . Women consuming indigenous foods in the past 2 d had significantly higher intakes of Ca (P = 0·008) and Fe (P = 0·010) than those who did not. Varying degrees of underweight were observed in 50 % of women with no significant association between underweight and consumption of indigenous foods. Conclusions: Promotion of preferential cultivation of nutrient-dense indigenous food sources and effective nutrition education on their importance may facilitate better micronutrient intakes among women in Santhal community of Jharkhand.

Agroforestry diversity, indigenous food consumption and nutritional outcomes in Sauria Paharia tribal women of Jharkhand, India

“…kind of roots and tubers and/or GLVs, a pattern also reported for other tribal communities of Jharkhand and other states (Ghosh-Jerath et al, 2016Thirumani Devi & Sindhuja, 2015).…”

“…This could be because IFs like GLVs were exceptionally rich in specific nutrients and thus contributed to substantial increase in the nutrient intake even when consumed in low amounts. Previous studies on Santhal and Oraon tribal women also demonstrated a similar outcome of higher mineral intake of iron and calcium upon consumption of IFs (Ghosh-Jerath et al, 2016.…”

“…Oraon tribes residing in the state of Jharkhand (Ghosh-Jerath et al, 2016. The Sauria Paharia community is considered as PVTG owing to poor development and nutritional indicators and access to health services (Jamwal, 2019;Lal, 2019;MHN Report, 2014).…”

Innovative matrix for applying a food systems approach for developing interventions to address nutrient deficiencies in indigenous communities in India: a study protocol

“…Our sample size calculation suggests that we need at least 134 women per group in each of the tribal communities (leading to a total of 268 households per tribal group) to detect a difference of at least 30% in iron intake (> 3.4 mg difference in absolute terms) between the two groups with 80% statistical power based on a two-sided test having 5% level of significance, after accounting for the loss in precision due to cluster sampling (assuming a design effect of 2). To calculate our sample size, we used estimates of mean iron (11.3 ± 7 mg/day) in the Santhal tribes based on previously published work [36]. In order to ensure that we have a large enough sample size, we plan to include 280 households per tribal group (280 × 4 tribal groups = 1120 households).…”

Effect of Lifestyle on Body Fat Percentage and Visceral Fat in Indian Women with Above Normal Body Mass Index

“…Nutrient intake data from the 3 day dietary record were entered into the validated software 'DietCal' version 3·0 (Profound Tech Solution; http://dietcal.in/), which is based on values from the Nutritive Value of Indian Foods (15) . The data collected was then analyzed.…”