Abstract: The Arunthathiyars are densely populated in the western districts of Tamil Nadu. They are the most discriminatednot only by the general public but even among the dalit community. In the urban area the community is mainly involved in conservancy work, and in the rural area majority of them are agricultural laborers. Considering their economic status and the kind of facilities provided in the government schools like the uniforms, books, midday meals and also free education, majority (83%) of the adolescents were enrolled in those schools. A detailed survey was conducted in the selected taluk of Coimbatore district and data was collected from 494 adolescents in the age group 11 – 19 years from six villages using a questionnaire. BMI (Body mass Index) was calculated with height and weight measurements to appraise the nutritional status of the selected sample. The statistical analysis found that 48 per cent were undernourished with BMI being significantly influenced by the type of school and not with age and gender.
Keywords: Arunthathiyars, discrimination, adolescents, BMI (Body Mass Index), nutritional health.
Title: Nutritional health of adolescents of Arunthathiyar population and factors associated
Author: Ms. Jahnavi Devi, Dr. K. Arockia Maraichelvi
International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovations
ISSN 2348-1218 (print), ISSN 2348-1226 (online)
Research Publish Journals
