Nutritional Status Adiposity and Body Composition of Oraon and Sarak Females in Ranchi District, India—A Comparison

Abstract

The Oraon and the Sarak are two distinct ethnic groups with respect to their own religion, culture, language, and food habits, and they live in similar environmental conditions in Ranchi District in Jharkhand, India. Age differences in anthropometric and body composition measurements and nutritional status of adult (≥18 years) female Oraons (N = 216) and Sarak (N = 110) were recorded and compared. The subjects were categorized into three age groups: < 39 years, 40–59 years, and ≤ 60 years. The women in both samples were observed to be suffering from a very high degree of chronic energy deficiency (CED; body mass index [BMI] < 18.5 kg/m² in Oraons = 62.50% and in Saraks = 46.36%). Very low proportions of body fat mass (FM) and high percentage of fat-free mass (FFM) were recorded in these two adult samples. Linear regression analyses revealed that age had a significant impact on all variables and the level of undernutrition and thinness increased with age. Oraon women had lower BMI, higher rates of undernutrition, and lower percent body fat (PBF) and FM compared to the Sarak women.

Keywords:

• Oraon
• Sarak
• undernutrition
• body mass index
• percent body fat
• age

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author thankfully acknowledges the help extended by Ms. Tanwi Sukul and Mr. Rajkumar Barman during data collection. Thanks are also extended to Dr. Michael Pietrusewsky for his help with improving the English used in this paper.