ISBN: 978-93-94174-56-6

Body Mass Index as an Indicator of Health Among the Raji Tribal

¹ Department of Anthropology, Doon University. India.

² M.Sc. Student, Department of Anthropology, Doon University. India.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a relatively simple, effective, and inexpensive tool to assess the nutritional status of a population used in present study on several selected villages of the Raji tribal group of Uttarakhand, one of India's most marginalized and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). Findings reveal a high occurrence of individuals showing underweight, especially in women and the elderly, indicating chronic undernutrition, inadequate dietary diversity, and limited health care services. The research correlates low BMI with poor maternal and child health outcomes and increased risk of infection-related chronic diseases and physical weakness. The increasing BMI of the population, showing a shift in middle-aged adults, alludes to the emergence of diet-related diseases and lifestyle changes. Health issues among the Raji were aggravated by longstanding situations of poverty, forest dependence, lack of access to any health infrastructure, and socio-cultural factors. Recommendations of the study included, but were not limited to, regular health checking, nutritional supplementation, mobile health services, and culturally accepted nutrition education. The research helps to demonstrate the significance of BMI to identify vulnerable groups among others, and gives evidence for continued monitoring of vulnerable groups and integrated interventions to enhance the health and nutrition of tribal populations. The study also highlights the importance of blending traditional knowledge with developmental health systems and will encourage future students studying health and nutrition research among tribes.

*Corresponding author; e-mail: manwsbartwal@gmail.com

Cite this Chapter: Manwendra Singh Bartwal and Babydaina Chanu M. 2026. Body Mass Index as an Indicator of Health Amongthe Raji Tribal Community of Uttarakhand, India. In: Dr. Shamim Ahmed Shamim Khan Barbhuiya. Dr. Saurabh Sarma. Dr. Kowser Alam Laskar. Dr. Atiqur Rahman Laskar. Dr. Gulenoor Islam Barbhuiya (Eds.), ANUSANDHAN-A Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Research Repository. Excellent Publishers, India. pp. 18-151. doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/978-93-94174-56-6_16