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- Title
Rural-Urban Differences in Nutritional Status and Physical Body Dimensions of Adult Santal Males of West Bengal.
- Authors
Das, M. B.; Roy, K. S.
- Abstract
During the last two decades, India has experienced substantial economic growth; yet there is still large socio-economic inequality in rural and urban areas. This inequality ultimately affects nutritional status, health and the well being of the population. The present study aimed to investigate the differences in nutritional status and physical body dimensions of rural and urban adult Santal males of West Bengal. The present cross-sectional study was conducted among the Santals of West Bengal, as part of a larger bio-medical research project. A total number of 380 adult males were measured for different anthropometric traits, of which 206 males were from rural areas of the Bankura district, and 174 males were from urban areas of the Santragachi, Howrah district. Socio-demographic information was collected; Body Mass Index (BMI) was used to assess nutritional status of the study population through standard BMI cut-off values. Descriptive statistics and t-statistic were used to show the differences between groups. The majority of the Santals from the rural group were engaged in agricultural activities, while most of their urban counterparts were engaged in services in the private and public sectors. The nutritional status of the study population indicates that around 60% were classified as 'normal' irrespective of residential status. However, 3% of the rural and 38% of the urban individuals may be classified in the 'overweight' category; the remaining individuals from both rural and urban areas have been categorized as 'underweight'. Rural males showed significantly lower mean values in almost all physical body dimension traits compared to their urban counterparts.
- Publication
International Journal of Anthropology, 2013, Vol 28, Issue 4, p237
- ISSN
0393-9383
- Publication type
Academic Journal