Tribal Health and Nutrition: A Bio-Cultural Study among Raji Tribe of Uttarakhand, India.

Abstract

It has been known for ages that the general assumptions, coupled up with belief and practices relating the health and disease of the common man has intimate relation to the diagnosis process as well as the cure of disease. Therefore, it becomes inevitable to generate a comprehensive view of all the cultural facet of health and its related concerns of a community. The presented research paper is an outcome of the field work conducted in the districts Pithoragarh and Champavat ofUttarakhand State among R.nji primitive tribal groups (PVTGs). This study is based on the health and nutritional status of R.nji community using anthropometric profiles like height, weight, waist and hip circumferences and three parameters that were derived from these measurements, i.e., Body Mass Index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and Haemoglobin (Hb). In this study we collected N=94 adult individual blood samples and anthropometric measurement aged above 18 years from ten villages in the study area. The findings of the study strongly indicate lack of health awareness, poor concern for health check-upsboth physical as well as mental, poor lifestyle, lack of balanced diet, nutritionalrequirements etc. It has been observed that the health status in this community is almost directly proportional to the economic and social conditions of the people. The paper thus, evaluates health situation of the Raji tribe and provide some possible recommendations for their good health and social development that might help to address their health and social development.