Assessment of undernutrition among Santal children of Bolpur-Sriniketan block of Birbhum District, West Bengal, India

Present cross sectional study was undertaken to assess the nutritional status of 348 pre-primary and primary school going Santal children aged 4 to 10 years which includes 186 boys and 162 girls of Bolpur-Sriniketan Block, Birbhum, West Bengal. Anthropometric measurements of height and weight were measured using standard procedure. The analyses reveals that the mean value of height of boys is slightly greater than that of the girls but the mean value of both weight and BMI of girls are slightly greater than those of the boys. The differences in height, weight and BMI between boys and girls were not statistically significant. The age group wise distribution of undernutrition of both boys and girls were identified by calculating age specific z-scores values. On the basis of both weight for age and BMI for age, the percentage of severe and moderate underweight is higher among the boys than the girls. On the basis of height for age, the percentage of severe stunting is higher among the boys than the girls but the percentage of moderate stunting is higher among the girls than the boys. The study concludes that the boys are more affected by undernutrition in the form of underweight and stunting than girls.