This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier’s archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Author's personal copy ARTICLE IN PRESS l l HOMO — Journal of Comparative Human Biology 59 (2008) 235–251 www.elsevier.de/jchb Body form and nutritional status among adult males of different social groups in Orissa and Bihar States in India S. Chakrabartya, M. Palb, S. Bharatic, P. Bharatia,Ã aBiological Anthropology Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, India bEconomic Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, India cSociological Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, India Received 12 March 2007; accepted 1 November 2007 Abstract This paper aims to carry out a biological investigation of the body form and nutritional status of the major social groups of Orissa and Bihar States in India. For this, Cormic Index (CI) and Body Mass Index (BMI) have been computed using data on height, sitting height and weight, taken from adult males of age 18–62 years of various ethnic groups in these two states. The subjects have been classified on the basis of chronic energy deficiency (CED). It is found that a substantial proportion of the people with CED are in the grade II and grade III categories. ANOVA, t-tests, correlation and regression were carried out separately. The results reveal that in Orissa, Scheduled Tribes are shorter, lighter and have lowest mean values of BMI and Cormic Index compared to other groups, but in Bihar, though the Scheduled Tribes are shorter, Scheduled Castes are lower in weight and have the lowest mean values of BMI. There are significant differences in BMI as well as in CI between Scheduled Tribes of Orissa and Bihar. Scheduled Castes and Tribes of Bihar have the highest percentage of CED with 64.71% and 57.45%, respectively. Muslims of Bihar are also affected (52.95%), but overall prevalence of CED is lower in Orissa (49.11%) than in Bihar (54.62%). BMI and CI are highly correlated for each of the social groups in Bihar and Orissa. r 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. ÃCorresponding author. Tel.: +91 33 25753210; fax: +91 33 25781834. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (P. Bharati). 0018-442X/$ - see front matter r 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jchb.2008.04.001 Author's personal copy ARTICLE IN PRESS 236 S. Chakrabarty et al. / HOMO — Journal of Comparative Human Biology 59 (2008) 235–251 Introduction Anthropometric measurements have assumed a major role in exploring body form (body size and shape) and nutritional status of populations over time (Gorstein and Akre, 1988; Ruff, 2002). These methods are simple and inexpensive compared to other existing methods (FAO, 1996). Generally, the measurements of body size (height, weight) and relative indices (relative sitting height) reflect body shape (e.g. Body Mass Index). These are often used to measure the nutritional status of a population (WHO, 1995). There are various ways of measuring nutritional status of adults (Lohman et al., 1988), but Body Mass Index (BMI) is most widely used and is suitable for large-scale surveys (James et al., 1988; Ulijaszek and Kerr, 1999; WHO, 1995). It has been proposed that BMI can be used as a practical measure of chronic energy deficiency (Ferro-Luzzi et al., 1992; James et al., 1988). But BMI has several limitations (Banerji et al., 1999; Immink et al., 1992; Norgan, 1990, 1994). One of these limitations is that relative sitting height (sitting height/height) or Cormic Index (CI) indicate, that body proportions may overestimate or underestimate BMI in different populations (Norgan, 1995). Therefore, it is necessary to adjust BMI on CI to correctly understand the population differences based on body shape or BMI (Norgan, 1995). Information regarding population differences based on adult BMI (mean and distribution) can be used for assessing differences in the standard of living between population groups (Nube et al., 1998). That is so, because there is now substantial evidence that low BMI reflects poorer health and reduced physical capacity (James, 1994). A higher mortality rate has been found to be associated with low BMI (Harris et al., 1993). Morbidity and low BMI may be considered as ill health factors (Khongsdier, 2002). A cutoff point of 18.5 kg/m2 for BMI has been accepted for demarcating persons with less than normal nutritional status from persons with normal nutritional status. The poor demographic, economic, social and environ- mental conditions are also related to undernutrition, which is defined as BMI being less than 18.5 kg/m2 (Pryer and Rogers, 2006; Subramanian and Smith, 2006). Although human populations show a wide variation in height and weight as the major expression of different genetic make-up (Eveleth and Tanner, 1990; Majumder et al., 1990) at the population level, BMI may be considered as the major expression of nutritional consumption rather than genetic predisposition (Rolland-Cachera, 1993). Hence, ‘‘the usefulness of BMI as an anthropometric indicator of nutritional status in a country with diverse ethnic groups like India’’ (Khongsdier, 2001, p. 375) is beyond any question. Eastern parts of India, specifically the States of Orissa and Bihar, are considered to be the poorest States in India in the context of socio-economic and infrastructural development over time. These are manifested by high rate of undernutrition, particularly in rural areas. There are within and between State differences in nutritional conditions among various social groups as well as communities. Each and every social group has their unique body form with respect to size and shape, which may be manifested in the prevalence of undernutrition. It is well established that the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes in India are socio-economically Author's personal copy ARTICLE IN PRESS S. Chakrabarty et al. / HOMO — Journal of Comparative Human Biology 59 (2008) 235–251 237 disadvantaged compared to the rest of the Indian population that is, to other castes and Muslims (Ghosh and Bharati, 2006). In the Indian context, large-scale studies have been conducted on South Indian (Ferro-Luzzi et al., 1992), Northeastern (Khongsdier, 2001) and Central Indian populations (Adak et al., 2006) regarding population differences of BMI and nutritional status among different social groups (castes and tribes). But these studies have not considered the relative influence of body proportions (CI) on body shape (BMI) in understanding population differences. Therefore, in the present study, an attempt has been made to make a general biological examination of body form among adult males of different social groups (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, General and Other Castes and Muslims) in the States of Orissa and Bihar in Eastern India and, to show how this body form is manifested by nutritional status. Population The Indian caste system is highly complex. There exists a traditional hereditary system of social stratification in India, in which social classes are defined by a hierarchical endogamous Chaturvarna system of social groups. For many years, the Chaturvarna system used to be the descriptive social superstructure of Hindu society in the Indian subcontinent. The Brahmins, a priestly caste, are at the top of this system. Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, rulers and businessmen, are in the middle position, and Sudras are at the bottom. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribal communities have been accorded special status by the Constitution of India. These communities (now within Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) were previously considered ‘‘outcastes’’ and excluded from the Chaturvarna system. Traditionally, these communities had been regarded as the most menial labourers with no possibility of upward social mobility. They are the most disadvantaged group in India. The Scheduled Tribes have been unable to participate in the mainstream of the Indian society and thus, were deprived of any opportunity for integration with the rest of the society. The Scheduled Castes are also known as Dalits and Scheduled Tribes are referred to as Adivasis. After independence, the Constituent Assembly defined Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This body made the President and Governors responsible for compiling a full listing of castes and tribes within these two groups, and also gave them the power to edit this listing later, as required (see Constituent Assembly, articles 341 and 342). The actual complete listing of castes and tribes was made via two orders, The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, respectively. In terms of indices of development, the States of Orissa and Bihar are considered as disadvantaged states. Orissa has 36.80 million people comprising 16.5% from Scheduled Castes and 22.1% from Scheduled Tribes. The population of Bihar is more than double of that of Orissa with 82.87 million people, of which 15.7% are from Scheduled Castes and 0.9% are from Scheduled Tribes (Census of India, 2001). Author's personal copy ARTICLE IN PRESS 238 S. Chakrabarty et al. / HOMO — Journal of Comparative Human Biology 59 (2008) 235–251 According to the 1991 census of India, the Scheduled Tribal population of Bihar comprised 7.66% of the total state population. This difference between two censi is due to the fact that the major portion of the tribal population from Bihar is now in Jharkhond State, a new Indian state formed from some parts of former Bihar and Orissa territories.