Body Mass Index of Kaani Tribes from Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu, India

Volume 1 - Issue 1

Jemima Beryl Mohankumar* and M Velvizhi

Received: April 03, 2018;   Published: April 11, 2018

DOI: 10.32474/SJFN.2018.01.000101

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Abstract

BMI provides the most useful population-level measure of overweight and obesity as it is the same for both sexes and for all ages of adults. However, it should be considered a rough guide because it may not correspond to the same degree of fatness in different individuals. There is a difference in BMI values for the Asians as compared to the WHO criteria. Our study focused on the BMI of the Kaani tribes in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu, India. We categorized them as two groups, viz. those who lived in the forest area and those who had moved out of the forest into neighbouring villages. We found that among the forest dwellers there was a greater percentage in the underweight category, indicating energy deficiency, while those in the rural areas were moving to a greater BMI. This is of concern as the sequel of thinness and overweight represent major public health problems.

Keywords: BMI; Kaani tribes; Public health; Lifestyle; Chronic energy deficiency; Obesity

Abbrevations: BMI: Body Mass Index, WHO: World Health Organization, CED: Chronic Energy Deficiency

Abstract| Introduction| Methodology| Result and Discussion| Conclusion| References|