Subrata K. Roy

Sex Bias in Intrahousehold Food Distribution: Roles of Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Characteristics

A review of literature dealing with intrahousehold food distribution in India indicates that inequality of distribution has probably existed since prehistoric times and is present now as a cultural characteristic of diverse social and ethnic groups. Generally females especially young females are the group most discriminated against. A study was undertaken to determine whether variations exist with respect to sex bias: 1) between a traditional rural Hindu group and several groups of different ethnic ancestries; and 2) among economic occupational religious and rural/urban subgroups of these groups. 1-day semiquantitative data on dietary intakes were collected from the woman running each household using as reference 8 containers decreasing in size from 3000 ml to 100 ml for each of the the following categories of household members: male household head; other male adult; male adolescent (13-18 years); male child; household heads wife other female adult; female adolescent; and female child. Sex and age-specific calorie intakes recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research were used as standards. Null hypotheses tested were that each member of a household received what he or she needs and where the total quantity available was > or < that required by the household members food was shared equitably. Among Lepchas except for urban Christian Lepchas a bias in favor of females is suggested. Among sherpas the relationship is less clear although food intake of the household head and his wife appears lower. Among Oraons no sex bias seems to exist. Mahishyas of high economic status display a bias in favor of males but among those of medium and low income groups intake appears proportional to individual needs. For other groups nutritional intake of most people appears low but small sample sizes may mean differences are insignificant.

Comparative study of physiological and anthropometric characteristics of high and low productivity workers in northern West Bengal, India

Lung functiion, selected hematological traits, blood pressures, and anthropometric dimensions were measured on adult Oraon tea garden laborers of both sexes from two tea gardens of Jaipaiguri district, northern West Bengal, India. The laborers were classified into two groups on the basis of work output or productivity, measured in terms of the quantity of green leaves plucked per day. The groups were similar in income, dietary pattern, and self‐reported morbidity. Relationships between the measured variables and productivity were evaluated. The results show several significant relationships, but do not conclusively demonstrate that the independent variables under study have any effects on work output.

Weekly variation in work-output of pluckers in tea gardens in northern West Bengal

Data on daily work-output (kg of leaves plucked) of Oraon pluckers in tea gardens of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India, are analysed. While on any particular day of the week there is no significant difference in work-output of males and females, there is a significant between-day variation in work-output for both sexes. Mean work-output steadily decreases as the week progresses, perhaps due to the cumulative effect of fatigue.

Blood pressure and body composition of rural Oraons of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India.

SUMMARY Prevalence of hypertension is increasing among indigenous populations of India. However, the relationship of body composition traits and hypertension among them is not known. Therefore, the objective of the study is to know the incidence of hypertension and associated body composition traits of rural Oraons. Data have been collected on socio-demographic characteristics, few lifestyle variables, anthropometric measurements and blood pressure from 336 adult (126 males and 210 females) Oraons using standard techniques and instruments. BMI, Waist Hip Ratio, Fat Mass, Fat Free Mass were calculated using formulae. Descriptive statistics, stepwise linear and logistic regression were adopted. Higher percentages of males (46.03%) were hypertensive than females (25.71%). Age was one of the significant predictor of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in either sex with or without adjusting lifestyle variables. Fat free mass, waist circumference along with tobacco chewing for males and mid-upper arm circumference, weight for females were significant predictors of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively. The risk factors for hypertension were age and fat free mass, adjusting lifestyle variables for the group.

Life Table Analysis of a Small Sample of Santal Population Living in a Rural Locality of West Bengal, India

Abstract Life table calculation of small populations, especially of marginal populations, is difficult due to a small number of death records and lack of a systematic birth and death registry. The present study aimed to calculate a life table of a small sample of Santal population from Beliatore area of the Bankura district, West Bengal, India, using the recall method. The data on birth and death events were collected using house-to-house interviewing and cross-checking the data with reference to the significant events of the area and the family. The life table was calculated from age specific death rate of a closed population retrospectively estimated for 10 years. The calculated life expectancy at birth of the study population was 63.9 years with a standard error of 3.15 years. The finding agrees with the life expectancy of the other larger populations of the region, although calculated using conventional methods. The method needs to be evaluated to get the optimum number of death events required for calculating the life table with an acceptable error level. The study will be helpful for comparisons of overall health status of small populations with respect to time and space.

Health: Cognition and Threshold among the Oraon Tea Garden Labourers of Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal

There is scarcity of health information in many subpopulations in India, which needs to be explored for formulating effective public health policy. Studies on the tea garden population revealed that poor socioeconomic conditions, ignorance due to illiteracy, culture and food habit, overcrowding, and unhygienic living conditions make the population vulnerable to various communicable and noncommunicable diseases and malnutrition. Data were collected from the labourers of Birpara and Dalgaon tea gardens of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal. The objective was to identify the primary health care available vis-a-vis the health problems. The results were based on mortality data, subjective well-being, frequency of ailment symptoms, perceived health status, and selected health practices as well as some observations, which indicate their cognition and threshold regarding health problems, presented as case studies. Mortality rates were high in the population; comparative mortality data shows no considerable change in mortality rate over time and space. A very high frequency of anaemia was prevalent among females along with sore throat and abdominal pain. Perceived health status of most of the people was good, although that was not always true, because the perception of the people often depends on their threshold and cognition about health and disease.

Differences in Selected Health Traits between Occupational Groups among Oraons of Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal

Occupational health deals with diseases or injuries caused due to work. Different types of work cause different types of ill-effect on health and may cause changes in health traits; empirical studies on the issues are scanty. The present study aims to investigate the differences in selected health traits between two occupational groups of the same ethnic origin. Cross-sectional data collected on 357 adult Oraon labourers engaged in two different occupations, namely, agriculture and brickfield in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, of which are 62 male and 43 female agricultural labourers and 136 male and 116 female brickfield labourers. Data consists of anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, and haemoglobin traits. Health status assessed in terms of BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and haemoglobin level following standard cut-off values. Mean values of both the occupational groups show similar trends in case of selected anthropometric and health traits. Individuals are ecto-mesomorphic irrespective of sex and occupation. Majority of individuals of either sex of both the occupational groups are underweight but hypertensive. In anthropological data, the trend of mean values is important than mere statistical significance. Data indicates that both the occupational groups have similar health condition, maybe due to their heavy manual activity.

Weekly variation in physical activity of the Oraon agricultural labourers of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal

The energy expenditure due to habitual physical activity is known to depend on several factors, but possible effects of most of the determinants are not clearly known. The present study deals with weekly variation in energy expenditure of the Oraon agricultural labourers of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India. The results show that, among males, there are significant differences between days of the week. But females do not show any such trend. The possible explanation of the results are the sociocultural practices of the studied population.

Factors influencing back strength and the changes due to age of the oraon agricultural labourers of jalpaiguri district, west bengal

Muscle strength is a major component of successful performance in almost every activity of daily living and it is critical to health and well-being. Anthropometric, blood pressure and strength measurements were taken from Oraon agricultural labourers of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. The data were analyzed to find out the differences between high and low back strength groups of both sexes in different traits of the parameters mentioned above. Secondly, identifying the peak age of muscle strength in both sex and the declining ages. Thirdly, the influencing factors which, affect the back strength. The results show that high back strength groups have higher mean values of most of the anthropometric traits compared to low back strength groups and the differences are significant in case of males, but females show significant differences in few traits. Blood pressures are relatively low in high back strength groups compared to low back strength groups in both sexes. The peak age for higher back strength seems to be within the age of 24 years for males and 20 years for females. The predictive variables for males were found to be grip strength and subscapular skinfold thickness, but females show grip strength, BMI, biceps girth, bicondylar diameter of humerus. The differences in influencing factors between males and females have been sorted out from sociocultural practice of the population.

Land-Labourer Relationship and Effect on the Working Efficiency: Anthropometry and Health Traits of the Oraon Agricultural Workers of Jalpaiguri District of West Bengal

Abstract The aspect of worker productivity or efficiency of work is one of the interesting problems in the third world countries especially in the Indian context. The work productivity or efficiency of work depends on several factors including health and socio-cultural factors. In the present paper, three agrarian Or aon worker groups (landowner, sharecropper and daily labou rer) have been considered in order to see the differences in work output and to find out the possible causes of such differences. The measurement of work output in harvesting (stocks), used for the present purpose is supposed to be the only possible way, and some explanations have been given in favour of the measurement. Results of the present study show that there are differences in work output between/among agrarian worker groups but the differences are not statistically significant. The differences in work output may not clearly be attributed to the differences in anthropometric traits or other health traits. Possible explanations have been sorted ou t in the light of socio-culture values example, attitude and motivation of the workers.