A study on nutritional status of tribal women in Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Background: India is a diversified country with a blend of people living in urban, rural& tribal areas. According to NFHS-3, 46.6% of tribal women had Body Mass Index (BMI) below 18.5, indicating chronic energy deficiency. Based on this background this study was conducted in the tribal population of ITDA paderu division in Visakhapatnam district to assess the nutritional status of tribal women. Methods: It is a cross-sectional study conducted in ITDA Paderu division of Visakhapatnam district among 225 randomly selected reproductive age group tribal women. Multistage simple random sampling technique was applied to select villages. A prior consent was taken from selected women& a pre-tested semi structured schedule was used to collect the information. Anthropometric measurements such as height& weight were measured& Body mass index was calculated. Pallor was observed by examining the conjunctiva. MS-Excel 2007, SPSS trail version-21 softwares were used for statistical analysis. Results: In the study population mean height of study population was 147.95±6.33 cm and mean weight was 45.01± 6.372 kgs. Prevalence of thinness among the study women was 18.2%. Among them 15.1% had moderate thinness and 3.1% had mild thinness. Pallor was observed among 61% of study women. Women from families with continuous earnings& debt free condition had BMI above 18.5. Conclusions: One fifth of the study population were at risk of further nutritional deficiency. Continuous earnings of families throughout year and debt free condition influence the nutritional status of women.