Regional Variations in Nutritional Status among Tribals of Andhra Pradesh

This study attempted to assess the nutritional status of tribals in three different regions of Andhra Pradesh state through Body Mass Index method. To calculate calorie intake, twenty-four hour recall method was adopted and compared with Indian Council of Medical Research’s recommended dietary allowances. The study found considerable differences in terms of average body weight, height and Body Mass Index among studied regions and tribes. A. VARADARAJAN AND SHEELA PRASAD 138 from Medak district have been selected. The selection of villages was based on distance and health facilities. Accordingly it has been decided to take one PHC village, one sub center village and one village where no health center was present. From each village 25 respondents were randomly selected and interviewed. A total of 225 eligible couples in the age group of 15-49 were interviewed in three districts with 75 from each PHC area. The sample covered six tribes in three regions. The data was collected during April to July 2005. The study adopted 24 hours recall method to calculate the calorie intake. By converting the reported food items into equivalent calories, unit calorie consumption was computed. It was compared with ICMR recommended dietary allowances (RDA). Weighing machine, measurement tape and pre-quantified vessels were used to collect the data. Limitation of the study is that the intra-family distribution of food to women and children are hard to bring into light with the adopted method of data collection. Hence, this is not intended to participate in the discourse of the utility of the normative standards but simply explains the calorie intake in terms of nutritional averages. However, consumption unit of individuals were calculated on their respective characteristics such as age, sex, and physiological condition etc. The study covered six tribes in three regions. As such, Bhagata and Konda Doara from region I, Gonds and Raj Gonds from region II and Sugalis or Lambadas and Yerukulas from region III were covered in the sample. Each tribe has diversified heterogeneous culture and tradition. Therefore, tribe wise analysis is also incorporated to identify the nutritional differences between the tribal groups. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION