Abstract

Health and nutritional status of an individual depends on the food he eats Man needs a wide range of nutrients to lead a healthy and active life and these are derived through the diet they consume daily Good nutrition is a basic component of health This paper deals with the utility of various anthropometric cut-off points in the evaluation of nutritional Health status Total 616 subjects studied from 201 household of the five villages of Baigachak area Anthropometric measurements taken were height and weight Dietary data was collected using 24hr recall method The extent of malnutrition for preschool children was assessed by SD classification and the nutritional status of adults was assessed by BMI classification Results About 58 6 of the pre-school children were under weight moderate to severe out of them 23 2 children were severely under weight Stunting and wasting were seen in 42 2 and 36 2 children respectively Prevalence of chronic energy deficiency BMI 18 5 was about 78 among adult population Consumption of cereals was higher than recommended level 460gm while the consumption of other foodstuff was lower than the RDA Conclusion The intake of all nutrients except calcium was significantly lower than recommended level It is suggested that the overall socio-economic development should be accelerated in order to improve the health and nutritional status of Bhumia Tribe