Nutritional Status of Primary Schoolgoing Santhal Children of Paschim Medinipur District, West Bengal, India

Abstract

ABSTRACT Rural tribal children of India are facing difficult growing conditions. It is very important to track the nutritional status of tribal children to understand their current situation. The present study was conducted to understand the nutritional status of Santhal children of Paschim Medinipur in West Bengal, India. The present study is cross-sectional, ex-post-facto research. The study depicts that nearly one-third of the study children are undernourished (26.38% stunted, 37.78% underweight, 25.73% thin). A higher percentage of underweight (41.6%), stunting (29.8%) and thinness (28%) can be observed among boys compared to the girls (33.6%, 22.6%, 23.3% respectively) in this area. The differences in the nutritional status of boys and girls are not statistically significant. The study concludes that Santhal children of this area are facing difficult situations concerning nutritional status, which indirectly indicates compromised health and wellbeing