Introduction: According to the 2001 census conducted by the Government of India, India has more than 84 million tribals who constitute 8.2% of India's population. The Oraons are an agricultural tribe found mainly in Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The present study was undertaken on a group of Oraon tribals working in a tea gardens of New Mal in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. The children attended the local primary school. The Oraons are covered by the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) of the Government of India, which is concerned with the health, nutrition and development of children and their mothers. To evaluate the effect of ICDS, the practices of adults towards hygiene, medication, addictive substances and diet were also recorded.
Methods: 500 Oraon tribals, including 200 men and 150 women aged 20-45 years, and 150 children aged 6-12 years, were surveyed for their dietary intake by 24-hour recall and semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire methodology and anthropometry, and a description of food-related traditions.
Results: The diet of all Oraon groups was deficient in all food groups. Cereal intake was least deficient, while the intake of milk and fruit was almost negligible. Their diet was supplemented by a locally grown green leafy vegetable dheki saag, and fermented leftover rice. The energy available from the diet for all age groups was only 52-53% of the recommended dietary allowances of the Indian Council of Medical Research. Children were enrolled in a midday meal program at the local primary school; however, their energy intake was severely deficient, and of the same order as their parents. The mean basal mass index (BMI) of adult Oraons was not low, but children were severely undernourished. Men were less undernourished than were women. Some potentially useful traditions practiced included wiping washed utensils with leaves of a local plant mirchaiya, preparing herbal tablets called ranoodava to make an alcoholic and a medicinal drink called hadiya. The Oraons' knowledge of contraception, vaccinations, proper diet and supplements needed for successful pregnancy was severely deficient.
Conclusions: A remarkable finding of this study on the Oraon tribals is that the BMI of children was substantially below that of adult men and women. This deficiency cannot be attributed to energy intake because energy intake of children, as percentage of recommended dietary allowance, was about the same as adults. The study shows that the midday meal program provided only approximately 25% of the energy requirements of the children; moreover, it was qualitatively deficient. It also seems that the midday meal replaced rather than supplemented home meals. Despite ICDS coverage, knowledge with regard to contraception, vaccinations, proper diet and supplements needed for successful pregnancy was very low. Interesting traditional practices concerned with methods of preparing food and use of local plants as medicines were observed and documented. Rural health professionals should ensure adequate quantity and quality of food supplementation. They should strive to disseminate health related knowledge. Traditional tribal practices should be studied for their nutritional and medicinal value. They could be responsible for the adequate BMI of adult Oraon, despite severe deficiency in energy intake.