531
In e na ional Jou nal o Ad ance and Applied Resea ch
www.ijaa .co.in
ISSN – 2347-7075
Impac Fac o – 8.141
Pee Re iewed
Bi-Mon hly
Vol. 6 No. 40
Sep embe - Oc obe - 2025
Nu i ional S a us o Scheduled T ibe Women in Beed Dis ic o
Maha ash a: An In e iew-Based S udy
M . Shyam Ku e1 & D . Vandana Pha ale2
1Assis an P o esso , Dep . o Home Science,
Sau K.S.K Alias Kaku College o A s, Science and Comme ce, Beed
2Head, Dep . o Home Science,
Sau K.S.K Alias Kaku College o A s, Science and Comme ce, Beed
Co esponding Au ho – M . Shyam Ku e
DOI - 10.5281/zenodo.17663948
Abs ac :
The nu i ional heal h o Scheduled T ibe (ST) women is a c ucial de e minan o communi y
well-being, in e gene a ional g ow h, and socioeconomic p og ess. This s udy assessed he nu i ional
s a us o 100 ST women esiding in Beed dis ic , Maha ash a, using an in e iew-based su ey
me hod. S uc u ed in e iews we e conduc ed o collec in o ma ion on an h opome ic measu es
(sel - epo ed heigh and weigh ), die a y in ake, heal h condi ions, mid-uppe a m ci cum e ence
(MUAC), and anemia- ela ed symp oms. The esul s e ealed a dual bu den o malnu i ion, wi h
39% women unde weigh and 38% o e weigh , alongside a high p e alence o mode a e anemia
(32%). Die a y di e si y was low, wi h he a e age Minimum Die a y Di e si y o Women (MDD-W)
sco e being 3.8 ± 1.6 ou o 10. The indings highligh pe sis en nu i ional challenges among ST
women, in luenced by socioeconomic dispa i ies, ood insecu i y, and limi ed access o heal h ca e.
The s udy unde sco es he need o cul u ally sensi i e, communi y-based in e en ions ocusing on
die di e si ica ion, anemia con ol, and women’s empowe men in u al Beed.
Keywo ds: Nu i ion, Heal h S a us, Malnu i ion, Beed, ST Women.
In oduc ion:
Women om Scheduled T ibe (ST)
communi ies in India ace p o ound nu i ional
disad an ages, oo ed in sys emic socio-
economic ma ginaliza ion, limi ed heal hca e
access, and pe sis en ood insecu i y.
Al hough India has made subs an ial p og ess
on se e al heal h indica o s, nu i ional
dispa i ies emain deeply en enched among i s
ibal popula ions (IndiaSpend, 2025). ST
communi ies accoun o app oxima ely 10.1
million indi iduals in Maha ash a alone, and
ibal women o en expe ience highe a es o
unde nu i ion, anemia, and eme ging
o e nu i ion compa ed o o he social g oups
(IndiaSpend, 2025).
Na ional and s a e-le el heal h da a
highligh hese dispa i ies. NFHS-5 (2019–21)
p o ides comp ehensi e, dis ic -le el
es ima es o key heal h and nu i ion
indica o s, unde sco ing signi ican
geog aphical and social inequali ies
(In e na ional Ins i u e o Popula ion Sciences
[IIPS] & ICF, 2021). E idence indica es ha
India is unde going a nu i ion ansi ion:
o e weigh and obesi y a e ising e en in
unde se ed popula ions, while unde nu i ion
pe sis s—c ea ing a double bu den o
malnu i ion (Du a e al., 2019; Young &
IJAAR Vol. 6 No. 40 ISSN – 2347-7075
M . Shyam Ku e & D . Vandana Pha ale
532
coau ho s, 2020). Among ibal women in
Maha ash a, he p e alence o unde weigh
emains ala mingly high, while anemia
con inues o a ec mo e han hal o women
(Rokade e al., 2020).
Despi e hese p essing conce ns,
dis ic -le el da a on ibal women's nu i ional
s a us—pa icula ly om Beed, a u al and
d ough -p one dis ic in he Ma a hwada
egion—is no ably spa se. Beed is
cha ac e ised by ecu en ag icul u al dis ess,
limi ed access o heal h se ices, and a
p edominan ly u al ibal popula ion. T ibal
women in such con ex s may expe ience a
unique blend o ch onic ene gy de iciency,
mic onu ien de iciencies, and ea ly signs o
o e nu i ion as die s shi owa d ene gy-
dense bu nu ien -poo oods.
Objec i es:
To assess he nu i ional s a us o ST
women in Beed dis ic h ough
s uc u ed in e iews.
To analyze he p e alence o
unde nu i ion, o e weigh and anemia
(based on sel - epo ed and symp om-
based da a).
Me hodology:
A c oss-sec ional in e iew-based
s udy was conduc ed among 100 Scheduled
T ibe women aged 18–49 yea s in Beed
dis ic o Maha ash a. The s udy employed
s uc u ed ace- o- ace in e iews o collec
p ima y da a.
S udy A ea: Beed dis ic is loca ed in he
Ma a hwada egion o Maha ash a,
cha ac e ized by semi-a id clima e, ecu en
d ough s, and limi ed heal h esou ces. The
selec ed illages ep esen ed bo h u al
hamle s and pe i-u ban se lemen s wi h
signi ican ST popula ions.
Sampling: A pu posi e sampling me hod was
used. Communi y leade s helped in iden i ying
eligible pa icipan s. A o al o 100 women
consen ed o pa icipa e.
Da a Collec ion Me hod: Da a was collec ed
using s uc u ed in e iews, conduc ed in
Ma a hi, he local language.
Sel - epo ed an h opome y: Pa icipan s
we e asked o ecall hei mos ecen weigh
and heigh , as measu ed ei he du ing heal h
cen e isi s o communi y p og ams. BMI
was calcula ed om hese sel - epo s.
Anemia assessmen : Ins ead o di ec blood
es ing, anemia was assessed using symp om
ecall ( a igue, pallo , dizziness,
b ea hlessness) along wi h pa icipan ’s la es
hemoglobin alues i a ailable om heal h
eco ds.
Resul s:
Socio-Demog aphic P o ile:
Ou o 100 esponden s, 82%
belonged o u al a eas and 18% o u ban
se lemen s. The majo i y we e ma ied (87%)
and engaged in ag icul u al labo o daily
wage wo k. Educa ion le els we e low, wi h
46% women ha ing only p ima y educa ion o
none a all.
Table.No.1 Nu i ional S a us o Scheduled
T ibe Women in Beed
S . No
Pe cen age
%
1
Anemia S a us
a
None
43 %
b
Mild
25 %
c
Mode a e
32 %
d
Se e e
0 %
2
BMI
a
Unde weigh
39 %
b
O e weigh
32 %
c
No mal
26 %
d
Obese
03 %
IJAAR Vol. 6 No. 40 ISSN – 2347-7075
M . Shyam Ku e & D . Vandana Pha ale
533
3
Residence
a
Ru al
82 %
b
U ban
18 %
4
Mean
a
Heigh
148.2
b
Weigh
48.5
c
BMI
22.0
Discussion:
S udy looks a he heal h and ood
habi s o a g oup o people, ocusing on how
common anemia is, how much people weigh
compa ed o hei heigh , whe e hey li e and
o he body measu emen s.
Anemia S a us: Anemia is s ill a big heal h
issue in his g oup. Abou 43% o people
didn’ ha e anemia, bu 57% did, wi h 25%
ha ing a mild o m and 32% ha ing a mo e
se ious ype. No one had he wo s kind o
anemia. This shows ha many people migh be
missing impo an nu ien s like i on, which is
a common p oblem in places whe e ood isn’
always heal hy o easy o ge . This ma ches
wha is seen in many coun ies whe e women
and child en o en ha e low i on le els
because o poo die s, no enough abso p ion
o inancial challenges.
Body Mass Index (BMI): Looking a how
hea y people a e compa ed o hei heigh .
Abou 39% o people we e unde weigh ,
which sugges s ha many don’ ge enough
ood. On he o he hand, 32% we e o e weigh
and 3% we e obese, poin ing o a g owing
p oblem o ea ing oo much and no mo ing
enough. Only 26% had a heal hy weigh . This
mix shows ha ood habi s and li es yles a e
changing, especially in places ha a e
becoming mo e like ci ies, which b ings new
ea ing habi s and less physical ac i i y.
Residence: Mos o he people in he s udy
li ed in u al a eas, wi h 82% om hese
places and only 18% om ci ies. Li ing in
u al a eas can a ec heal h in se e al ways. I
can be ha de o ge p ope medical ca e,
unde s and how o ea well, keep clean o ind
a good job. This migh be one o he easons
why mo e people in his s udy had p oblems
wi h no ge ing enough ood and had anemia.
An h opome ic Measu es: On a e age,
people in he s udy we e abou 148 cm all and
weighed 48.5 kg, wi h an a e age BMI o 22,
which is conside ed no mal. Howe e , e en
hough he a e age looks ine, he ac ual g oup
has people who a e bo h e y unde weigh and
o e weigh . This means he e a e big
di e ences in heal h wi hin he g oup, possibly
because o di e en ea ing habi s, how much
people mo e o how much money hey ha e.
Howe e , limi a ions exis : sel -
epo ed heigh and weigh may in oduce
ecall bias and symp om-based anemia
assessmen is less eliable han biochemical
es ing. Ne e heless, in e iew-based me hods
emain aluable in esou ce-limi ed u al
se ings, enabling esea che s o ga he bo h
quan i a i e and quali a i e dimensions o
nu i ional heal h.
Conclusion:
This in e iew-based s udy highligh s
he complex nu i ional challenges aced by
ST women in Beed dis ic . The coexis ence o
unde nu i ion, o e weigh , and anemia
unde sco es he need o a mul i ace ed
app oach. S udy shows ha bo h no ge ing
enough ood and ea ing oo much a e big
p oblems, along wi h a lo o anemia,
especially in u al a eas. To help, heal h
p og ams need o ocus on bo h kinds o
nu i ion issues. This could include eaching
people abou heal hy ea ing, gi ing ou i on o
p e en anemia and making su e ha ood and
medical ca e a e easie o access, especially
o hose li ing in u al pa s o he coun y.
IJAAR Vol. 6 No. 40 ISSN – 2347-7075
M . Shyam Ku e & D . Vandana Pha ale
534
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