FOOD INTAKE, HEALTH AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS AMONG THE RONGMEI NAGAS OF CACHAR, ASSAM

Abstract

Health and nutrition are universal phenomena of every human society and significant for every human individual. In anthropology, the health of any community, particularly of a tribal community, is a function of the interaction between cultural and biological practices, diet, genetic attributes and environmental conditions. Heath refers to a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing. It’s more than just absence of disease. And nutrition refers to the process of consuming food and using it to support the body’s function. It is a vital part of health and development. The objective of the study was to assess the health and nutritional status using BMI and to examine the association of BMI with the age and educational level and also to record their morbidity, deficiency symptoms and food habits of the Rongmei Naga of Cachar. The present study has been carried out among the Rongmei Nagas of Cachar district, Assam. The anthropometric data were collected from 270 individuals among the age group of 18-55 years. Data on morbidity, deficiency symptoms and information were collected based on self-reported illness of the last three months through in-depth interviews among 68 individuals. The overall BMI category is found to be slightly higher in underweight (20.00%) than the overweight (18.51%) and obese (5.55%) among the Rongmei Naga of Cachar.