PREVALENCE OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY AMONG THE MISHING WOMEN OF LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT OF ASSAM

Abstract

The Mishing are the second largest plain tribe of Assam, inhabiting mostly the flood-prone areas along the bank of the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries in the districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Majuli, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Golaghat districts of upper Assam. This book chapter sought to assess the prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (CED), overweight, and obesity based on body mass index (BMI) and its relation to other indicators of adiposity measures, namely waist-hip ratio (WHR), conicity index (CI), and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) among the Mishing women of Lakhimpur district, Assam. Although all these markers are popular anthropometric indicators for the assessment of undernutrition and obesity screening, both for individuals and at a population level, the cut-off value is not appropriate in all population groups of the world. Therefore, further study is required to provide ethnic specific cut offs to smooth the progress of better public health planning and performance.