Nutritional status of the Brokpas; an anthropometric analysis

Anthropometry of a random stratified sample of the semi nomad highlanders of eastern Bhutan, the Brokpas was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting using z-scores of weight for age, height for age, weight for height and BMI for age. A sample size of 280 individuals was analysed under two age groups viz, 2 to 20 years (n= 168) and above 20 years (n=112). According to the BMIZ the overweight prevalence among children and adolescents was 1.2 % whereas underweight prevalence was high according to both BMIZ (34.52%) as well as weight-for-age z-scores (45.83%). BMI values showed 25.45% adults to be overweight. 30.95% of the samples between 2 and 20 years were stunted whereas 25.84% of them showed wasting. The underweight and wasting in Brokpa children and adolescents was found to be comparatively higher than in rest of eastern Bhutan whereas stunting was lower. More of Brokpa adults were overweight. An attempt has been made to correlate the anthropometric findings with the dietary habits and practices of the community.