www.ejpmr.com │ Vol 11, Issue 3, 2024. │ ISO 9001:2015 Certified Journal │ Choudhury et al. European Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research 339 NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND DIETARY PRACTICE OF THE SCHOOL-GOING TOTO TRIBAL CHILDREN IN ALIPURDUAR DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL Arup Dhar, Prasanta Sabud, Debjani Chatterjee, Ahana Sinha, Rimpa Malakar and Sujata Maiti Choudhury* Biochemistry, Molecular Endocrinology, and Reproductive Physiology Laboratory, Department of Human Physiology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore- 721102, West Bengal, India. Article Received on 29/01/2024 Article Revised on 19/02/2024 Article Accepted on 10/03/2024 INTRODUCTION The school-going phase of life is very crucial because it is the prime time of life for the body to store nutrients. These stores assist children to grow faster. Good nutrition helps to build strong immunity, better health, a disease-free life, and a productive Society. [1] School- going children are the major contributors to future manpower and will help improve the socio-economic conditions of developing countries like India. Therefore, the mental and physical well-being of these children is of utmost concern which can be achieved through adequate nutrition. [2] Children who had not received sufficient amounts of essential macro and micronutrients including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals not able to be in a place to achieve their optimum potential in their education. [3] It is generally observed that the quality and quantity of children's food changes over time from childhood to adolescence. A healthy diet is not their priority during childhood and poor eating habits can lead to various health problems. [4] Diet patterns relate to which foods are eaten in combination, and diet quality indicators consider the nutritional value of different foods relative to guidelines. There is increasing interest in nutritional epidemiology to measure diet quality by dietary patterns rather than a single food item or nutrient. [5] Globally malnutrition is the prime culprit which affects massive numbers of children, especially in developing countries. [6] A population of 47lakh tribal children in our country is the victim of nutrition deprivation which affects their existence, growth, development, learning, performance in an educational institution, and performance as adults. [7] After independence, different policies and programs have been taken by the government for the growth and development of tribal communities by emphasizing their health, livelihoods, and education. Instead of over six decades of many treatments, still, tribals remain the most malnourished part of our society. [8] SJIF Impact Factor 7.065 Research Article ISSN 2394-3211 EJPMR EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND MEDICAL RESEARCH www.ejpmr.com ejpmr, 2024, 11(3), 339-346 ABSTRACT Malnutrition is a crucial public health problem among school children. Sufficient nutrition is very critical for optimum growth and development of children. The objective of the study is to determine the nutritional status and dietary habits of Toto tribal school-going children. A cross-sectional study was carried out at Totopara Village of Alipurduar district, West Bengal. from October 2020 to March 2021. Fifty children were selected by simple random sampling technique for the study. To gather data, a pre-tested questionnaire and anthropometrical measurements were used. The database was made through MS Excel and analysis of data was done by SPSS version 20.0. Logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the factors related to malnutrition. The statistical significance was expressed at p-value <0.05 with a 95% confidence interval. None of 6-12 years children were identified as underweight. A moderate case of stunting was noticed among 4% of individuals (Conicity index: 0%- 10.4%) and had no severe stunting. Furthermore, only 2% of 6-12-year-old children were overweight. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was significantly (p<0.01) positively correlated with weight, Body-mass index (BMI), percentage body fat index (PBF), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). The arm circumference to height ratio (AHtR) was significantly (p<0.01) positively correlated with weight, height, WHR, Conicity index (CI), and WHtR. They consumed fewer nutrients according to RDA except protein and riboflavin. The study has come to the conclusion that the Toto children are suffering from the double burden of malnutrition. To confront this problem an intervention should be taken by policyholders. Encouraging them to proper dietary habits with the help of nutritional education would be an interventional method. KEYWORDS: Tribal, School-going children, Malnutrition, Toto. *Corresponding Author: Dr. Sujata Maiti Choudhury Biochemistry, Molecular Endocrinology, and Reproductive Physiology Laboratory, Department of Human Physiology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore- 721102, West Bengal, India.