Nutritional profile of children under 5 years of age in a tribal community in the district of maldah, west bengal.

Objectives: To determine the nutritional status of under-5 tribal children.

Design: Community-based cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: Three tribal villages of the Chanchal II block of the Maldah district in West Bengal.

Subjects And Methods: In 3 tribal villages, 188 children under 5 years of age were examined to detect nutritional deficiency disorders. By anthropometric measurement, nutritional grading of them was determined. Interviews of mothers provided breast-feeding and weaning practices.

Results: 63.83% of study subjects were suffering from different grades of malnutrition. Prevalence of anaemia and angular stomatitis was 45.74% and 19.12%, respectively, among them.