Critical nutritional stress among adult tribal populations of West Bengal and Orissa, India.

This paper deals with cross-sectional studies carried out during the period 2004-2007. It is based on eight data sets of tribals of Paschim Medinipur and Bankura Districts of West Bengal and Keonjhar District of Orissa. The tribes include Bhumijs, Kora Mudis, Lodhas, Santals, Bathudis and Savars. Height and weight were measured following standard techniques. The body mass index (BMI) was computed following standard equation. Nutritional status (chronic energy deficiency, CED) was evaluated using internationally accepted cut-off values of BMI. We followed the World Health Organization's classification (1995) of the public health problem of low BMI, based on adult populations worldwide. Our results show that, in general, among the tribes studied:
i)Both sexes had very low levels of BMI
ii)There existed high rates of CED indicating a critical nutritional condition 
iii)Women experienced greater nutritional stress
iv)The nutritional situation is similar in both West Bengal as well as Orissa.
&#xa

Interlinkage, limited liability, and strategic interaction

The authors analyze the example of a landlord, a moneylender, and a tenant (the landlord having access to finance on the same terms as the money lender). It is natural to assume that the landlord has first claim on the tenant's output (as a rule, if they live in the same village, he may have some say in when the crop is harvested). The moneylender is more of an outsider, not well placed to exercise such a claim. A landless, asset-less tenant will typically not get a loan unless he has a tenancy. Without inter-linkage, the landlord is likely to move first. In the non-cooperative sequential game where the landlord is the first mover and also enjoys seniority of claims if the tenant defaults, inter-linkage is superior, even if contracts are non-linear - a result unchanged with the incorporation of moral hazard. The main result is that if a"passive"principal - one whose decisions are limited to exercising his property rights to determine his share of returns - is the first mover, allocative efficiency is impaired unless his equilibrium payoffs are uniform across states of nature. The limited liability of the tenant creates the strict superiority of inter-linkage by making uniform rents non-optimal when, with non-collusive principals, the landlord (the passive principal) is the first mover. A change in seniority of claims from the first to the second mover (the moneylender) further strengthens this result. But uniform payoffs for the first mover are not essential for allocative efficiency if he is the only principal with a continuously variable instrument of control. So, the main result is sensitive to changes in the order of play but not to changes in the priority of claims.Labor Policies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Urban Housing,Banks&Banking Reform,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research

Nutritional Assessment by Mid-Upper Arm Circumference of Santal Adults of Purulia, West Bengal, India

The present community based cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of undernutrition using mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) among adult (> 18 years) Santals of Purulia District, West Bengal, India. It was undertaken at 10 villages of the district. A total of 520 (217 males and 303 females) subjects were measured. Commonly used indicator i.e., MUAC and BMI, were used to evaluate the nutritional status of the subjects. More women (64.7%) then men (54.4%) based on MUAC and women (59.4%) then men (34.6%) based on BMI were undernourished. Significant sex difference both in MUAC (t=2.378, p<0.05) and BMI (t=4.971, p<0.001) were observed. Significant age group difference for MUAC was observed (F=8.93***, df=3) for men and (F=9.52***, df=3) for women. For BMI, these values were F=10.10*** (df=3) F=6.17*** (df=3) respectively. In conclusion, we found that adult Santals of both sexes were under critical nutritional stress, women and the oldest among them were the most

Effect of Number of Rooms and Sibs on Nutritional Status among Rural Bengalee Preschool Children from Eastern India

In developing countries including rural India, undernutrition among preschool children is one of the main barriers of the national development. However, there exists scanty information on the prevalence of underweight and stunting and their socio-demographic predictors among preschool children in India and West Bengal. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of underweight and stunting and the impact of two socio-demographic indicators, namely number of living rooms (NLR) and number of sibs (NS), on them among 1–5 year old Bengalee rural preschool children of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Centres. This cross sectional study was undertaken at 30 randomly selected ICDS centre of Chapra Block, Nadia District, West Bengal, India. A total of 673 children, aged 1–5 years were studied. The overall (age and sex combined) rates of underweight and stunting were 54.40 % and 39.20%, respectively. NLR was significantly associated with the prevalence of underweight (c 2=4.34, df=1, p<0.05) and stunting (c 2= 8.98, df=1, p<0.01) among girls. Similarly, NS had a significant association with prevalence of underweight (c 2=10.29, df=1, p<0.001) and stunting (c 2=5.42, df=1, p<0.05) among girls. Girls with <2 NLR had significant higher risk of being underweight (OR=1.64, C.I=1.30–2.62) or stunted (OR=2.23, C.I=1.31–3.80) than those with 2 NLR. Moreover, girls with 3 NS had significant higher rate of underweight (OR=2.03, CI=1.32–3.146) or stunting (OR=1.69, C.I= 1.09–2.63) than those with <3 sibs. Logistic regression analyses also revealed that both NLR as well as NS were strong predictors of underweight (NLR: Wald=4.30, p<0.05; NS: Wald=8.74, p<0.001) and stunting (NLR: Wald=10.17, p< 0.001; NS: Wald= 5.38, p<0.05) among girls. Gender discrimination could be a likely cause for this sex difference in the impact of NRL and NS. Moreover, logistic regression were also undertaken with underweight and stunting status (yes/ no) as dependent variables and NLR and NS (combined) as independent variables to identify their effects, when considered together, on undernutrition. Results showed that NS had significant impact on underweight (Wald=8.28, p< 0.001) rather than NLR among girls. Results also demonstrated that NLR had significant impact on stunting (Wald=6.874, p<0.01) rather than NS

Nutritional Status and Menarcheal Age of Rural Adolescent Girls of Salboni Block of Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India

Age at menarche is a significant indicator of growth and sexual maturation in girls. During adolescence, anthropometry provides a tool for monitoring and evaluating the hormone-mediated changes in growth and reproductive maturation. Menarche is defined as the first menstrual period. It is considered to be the most obvious sign of puberty in girls. It has been regarded in many cultures as a transitional step to womanhood. This is a cross-sectional study which is done on 1009 school girls who belonged to Salboni block of district Paschim Medinipur of West Bengal, India. To study effect of nutrition on age at menarche, different anthropometric measurements were applied. The study had been done on 10-19 adolescents school girls (1009). For this study, different types of anthropometric measurements were taken like weight and height. Height is measured through anthropometric rod, and weight by a weighing machine. Triceps and biceps Skinfolds are taken by skinfold caliper. Structured questionnaires were followed to know details of socio-economic status. Height was measured to the nearest 0.1 cm and weight to the nearest 0.5 kg. Each subject was weighed with minimum clothing and no footwear. Among studied sample, 896 girls had experienced menarche. Their mean age at menarche was 11.88 years (1.23). To compare anthropometric variable premenarchel and postmenarcheal girls that mean anthropometric measurement of premenarcheal girls more higher than post menarcheal girls in studied girls minimum age at menarche is 9 years and maximum age at menarche was 17 years. Body mass index increased progressively from 13 years to 19 years of age where overall increase was 1.89 kg/m2 from 10 to 19 years which was statistically significant with age (F=17.3, P<0.001), percent body fat was statistically significant with age (F=38.7, P<0.001). Nutritional status was better in postmenarcheal girls than in premenarcheal girls. The study represents typical differential rates of positive change in different body composition measures after the attainment of menarche

Effect of some social factors on nutritional status among rural Bengalee preschool children from Eastern India.

&nbsp;Undernutrition among under-5 children is one of the main barriers of the national development in rural India.&nbsp; It is seen as deeply rooted in environmental factors such as poverty and poverty related factors However, there exists scanty information on the nutritional as well as risk factor of undernutrition. The aim of the present study was to identify social factors which increase risk of undernutrition among the&nbsp; preschool children. The present cross-sectional&nbsp; study was carried out among 673 preschool children (323 boys and 350 girls) aged 1&ndash;5 years in Chapra block in Nadia district, West Bengal, India. Anthropometric measurements including height and weight were taken using standard techniques. Boys were taller and heavier at all ages than girls. The values of standardized weight-for-age are markedly below mean for reference population and in most of age classes also below -2 SDS. The overall (age and sex combined) rates (table 3) of underweight, stunting and wasting were 54.4 %, 39.2 % and 22.10 % respectively. Hindu children were less deviated from reference mean than Muslim children, for both features. The mean values of both these variables increased from lower to higher level of parental education.&nbsp; Our study revealed that religion, caste and parents&rsquo; educational status were significant risk factors for undernutrition. Enhancement of educational level of the parents should be promoted, more specifically among Muslims and lower caste people, to reduce the prevalence of preschool undernutrition.&nbsp;&nbsp

Regional Adiposity, Body Composition and Central Body Fat Distribution of 10–16 Years Old Bengalee Boys of Nimta, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India

A cross-sectional study of 502 Bengalee boys aged 10–16 years of Nimta, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India, was undertaken to study regional adiposity, body composition and central body fat distribution. The subjects were classified into seven age groups: 10–10.9 years (n=74), 11–11.9 (n=53), 12–12.9 (n=87), 13–13.9 (n=116), 14–14.9 (n=58), 15–15.9 (n=57), 16–16.9 (n=57). In general, there was a significant linear increasing trend from 10 to 16 years for all the anthropometric variables. There was a net increase of 30.5 cm and 22.8 kg in mean height and weight, respectively, between 10 and 16 years of age. Mean BMI increased by 3.7 kg/m2 during the same period. Among circumferences, the largest increase was in hip followed by chest while the smallest increase was in mid upper arm, between 10 and 16 years of age. Subscapular skinfold showed the largest increase followed by abdomen and suprailiac skinfolds, while the increase was least in forearm skinfold. Significant linear increasing trend was observed for all the body composition measures. The largest increase in percent of body fat (PBF) was observed between ages 10 and 11 years while mean fat mass (FM), fat free mass (FFM) and fat mass index (FMI) increased the most between 14 to 15 years. However, an overall decreasing trend was observed, in mean waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) from 10 to 16 years. Boys aged 10 years had the highest mean WHR while those aged 15 years had the lowest mean WHR. There was an increase in mean WHR among 16 years old boys