Traditional Nutritional Practices among Tribal Women in Andhra Pradesh: A Cultural Insight

For humans, a healthy diet includes preparation of food and storage methods that preserve nutrients from oxidation, heat or leaching, and that reduces risk of food borne illnesses. India has high rate of under nourished population with marginal improvement in situation in last 25 years. The prevalence of underweight, stunted and wasted is higher in tribal and rural areas than urban. The progress on other parameters of the nutritional status such as level of anemia in population groups and birth weight of newborns is also slow in the tribal community. India had a series of initiatives and programmes since independence which focused on improving nutritional status of the population. Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. ‘Under-nutrition’- which includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (lack of important vitamins and minerals). There has been some progress on improving nutritional status of tribal population in India. A few measures taken are integrated health and nutrition initiatives with closer collaboration of ITDA, health, women and child development and education departments. Diversification of supply of food under government programmes including more nutritious items such as millets, eggs, milk, soyabean and nutrient rich fresh foods and promote nutrition garden concept.