Prevalence of undernutrition among children (5–12 years) belonging to three communities residing in a similar habitat in North Bengal, India

Abstract

There is a high prevalence of undernutrition among the children. Urgent nutritional intervention is necessary to ameliorate their nutritional status.

Prevalence of Stunting and Thinness Among Adolescent Girls Belonging to the Rajbanshi Population of West Bengal, India

“…Undernutrition continues to be a major public health issue and a principal cause of ill-health condition 1,6 . The assessment of undernutrition bears great signifi cance in India; where a signifi cant proportion of the population is suffering from different grades of undernutrition [1][2][3]7,9,10,31 . The prevalence of stunting was signifi cantly higher in the higher age groups (i.e., [16][17][18] years) (Fig.2).…”

“…of adolescents from the rural areas were stunted 9 . A relatively very high prevalence of stunting (≥40.00%) was reported for Indian adolescents 8,10,19,24,26,27,29 (Table 3).…”

“…The exceptional rapid growth during this stage is characterized by enormous individual variations that pose diffi culty in defi ning normality 4 . The nutritional status of adolescent girls, who are the future mothers, bears special importance as they contribute signifi cantly to the overall nutritional status and health of the concerned population or community 5,6,7,8,9,10 . As a group, they are a potentially nutritionally vulnerable one in view of rapid growth and maturation of this period which demands extra nutrients and energy-rich foods 8 .…”

“…However, studies are relatively less on the prevalence of undernutrition among individuals belonging to these populations. 9,10,[31][32][33][34][35] Given the above, the present study was conducted to assess the prevalence of stunting and thinness among adolescent girls belonging to the indigenous Rajbanshi population of the region. It is surmised that the results of the present study will be helpful to the policy makers, government and non-government agencies in the formulation of appropriate nutritional intervention strategies in the population.…”

Assessment of Nutritional Status: A Case of Tribal Children in Assam, Northeast India

“…The prevalence of child undernutrition is generally assessed by conventional anthropometric indices of stunting (height-for-age), underweight (weight-for-age) and wasting (weight-for-height) following recommended international standards 1,11,12 , although conventional anthropometric indices are unable to provide the actual magnitude of undernutrition due to overlapping in nature 1,13 . The body mass index (BMI) as measured by weight in kilogram (kg) divided by height in meter (m) squared, is an inexpensive and non-invasive anthropometric measure that has been extensively utilized to assess the chronic energy defi ciency (CED; BMI<18.50 kg/m2) and thinness (low BMI-for-age) among adults and adolescents respectively 11 .…”