Report on “anthropometric failure” among rural 2-6 years old Indian Bauri caste children of West Bengal

This study was undertaken to determine the overall prevalence of undernutrition using the composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) among the Bauri caste rural preschool children of the Purulia District, West Bengal, India. A total of 347 children (185 boys and 162 girls) aged 2-6 years were measured. Stunting, underweight and wasting were used to evaluate the nutritional status of the subjects (compared with children of the United States NCHS reference sample) and CIAF for the total children. Among the studied Bauri children, 39.2% were stunted, 51.2% – underweight and 26.6% – wasted. The CIAF showed a higher prevalence of undernutrition, with a total of 66.3% of Bauri caste preschool children suffering from at least one type of “anthropometric failure”. Among the studied children only 33.7% showed no failure. Valuable health and nutrition promotional programs can be formulated based on the CIAF findings with the ultimate objective of reducing childhood undernutrition in a population of India.