MSc

A study on “Nutrtional profile of women participating in Kudumbasree programmes” was carried out among women in Nadathara panchayat, Thrissur district. A total of 120 women were selected randomly for the study. Out of this, 100 women from Kudumbasree members and 20 women from non members of Kudumbasree.

Information regarding the socio economic conditions of the families revealed that, most of the families in both KM and NM were Hindus and belonged to other backward communities with a family size of 3 to 5 members and majority of families were of nuclear type.

The composition of the families indicated that, among adults number of females was higher than the males and among children number of boys was higher than the girls.

Educational status of the family members showed that majority in both groups and all the respondents were literates.

Work participation of family members revealed that, majority of male members in both groups were engaged in either permanent or temporary type of jobs. And among women the percentage of ‘no work’ category was high in NM families than in KM families.

Monthly income of the KM families varied from Rs.2001 to 4000 whereas in NM families it was Rs.1001 to 3000.

Details of activities of KM respondents revealed that, they were engaged in 7 different types of activities in different units with a monthly income ranging from Rs.3000 to 10,000. Clay work and garment making were the two activities with more units. Highest income was for convenient food making unit and lowest income was observed for chocolate making unit, banana products making unit and one papad making unit.

Majority of KM respondents received more than Rs.1000 per month from their income generating activities and most of them contributed to about 31-60 per cent of their family income.

About 15 cents of land was owned by most of the KM and NM families and had no specific cultivation in their land.

Most of the KM families borrowed money from the Kudumbasree fund and house construction was the main purpose of loan whereas NM families took loan from kuris mainly for marriage expenses of the family members. The loan amount varied from Rs.20,000-30,000 in KM families and in NM families ranging from Rs.40,000-50,000.All the KM families saved money whereas the per cent of families with saving was less in NM families.

Monthly expenditure of KM families were significantly higher than the NM families on various aspects except for expenditure for health and fuel. Maximum proportion of income was spent on food items in both groups.

Primary health center was utilized by majority of KM and NM families for health care. Morbidity pattern in the families for the past one year revealed that, majority had only fever.

Majority of the families in both groups had their own houses with brick walls and tiled roof but number of rooms were more in KM families (3-5 rooms). All the families in both groups had separate kitchen and proper lavatory facilities. Most of the families had adequate drainage facilities. Majority of the families in both groups had recreational facilities like TV or radio. Most of the families had water sources from their own well.

Wood and LPG were used as fuel in most of the KM families whereas NM families used only wood for cooking foods.

Training programmes were attended by most of the KM respondents related to their activity and also in other fields and maximum duration of training (1 year) was found for tailoring practices.

Most of the KM respondents strongly agreed to the positive statements and strongly disagreed to the negative statements about the Kudumbasree programme.

Food consumption pattern of the families indicated that majority of the families were non vegetarians. Cereals, other vegetables, roots and tubers, oils and fats, spices and condiments, fish and sugar were consumed most frequently by the KM families while in NM families all the above food items except roots and tubers were found to be the most frequently used food items. Three major meals was the meal pattern followed by most of the families. About 40 per cent of KM respondents used packed lunch during working days and rice and pulses were the main items for lunch. Pickling was the only method of food preservation observed in the families.

In KM families some extra non vegetarian foods were given during special physiological conditions like pregnancy and lactation but this was not observed in NM families. During infancy most of the families in both groups gave ragi as the supplementary food. In disease conditions majority of the families gave rice porridge to the patients.

Majority of families in both groups followed hygienic practices and most of the respondents had different food believes.

Body mass index showed that 43 per cent of KM and 40 per cent of NM respondents were normal. Prevalence of mild and moderate malnutrition was found among NM respondents.

One day food weighment survey indicated that the mean intake of all foods except flesh foods were significantly below the RDA among KM and NM respondents.

The nutritional quality of the diet revealed that the intake of nutrients like protein, fat and riboflavin were significantly high in KM and NM respondents and the intake of iron, thiamin, niacin and vitamin C were satisfactory in KM respondents, while energy intake was significantly low.

Clinical examination showed symptoms like xerosis, pigmentation and functional night blindness in the eyes and flourosis and carries among both groups of respondents.

Biochemical examination of haemoglobin showed that 46.6 per cent of KM respondents were normal with a Hb level of 12g/100ml as against 10 per cent in NM respondents. There is a significant relationship was observed between the iron intake and Hb level of KM respondents.