Nutritional status of Lodha children in a village of Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal.

Undernutrition among tribal children is a major public health problem in India. Our study attempted to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition among Lodha children of Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal. A cross sectional study was conducted among 165 children aged 1-14 years in a village of Paschim Medinipur district during January to March 2008. Children were considered underweight, stunting and wasting following the NCHS standards. Overall the prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was 33.9%, 26.1% and 19.4 %, respectively. Of these, 9.1%, 9.7% and 3.6% children were found to be severely underweight, stunted and wasted. Moreover, the prevalence of underweight and stunting was significantly higher in pre-school children compared to school going children. There is an urgent need for appropriate steps to be taken to improve nutritional status of children in this ethnic group.