Nutrition status between Tharu and Dalit children under 5 years at Rupandehi, Nepal

Abstract

The aims of this study was to find out and compare the nutritional status between Tharu and Dalit community of Butwal Sub-metropolitan city, ward no15 Rupandehi District, Nepal. Quantitative and comparative types of research designs were used to collect the first hand data. 150 (75/75) children were taken as sample for the study using random sampling method. The interview schedule was applied as research tools to collect the primary data and information from the mothers of the children. Likewise, weighting machine and Shaker measuring tape were used as measuring instruments. Gomez and Water-low classification was used to analyze the data. The raw data was treated by SPSS version 20 [Mean, Standard Deviation, 'Z' test]. In the study area, the Dalit community was found more backward in education in comparison to Tharu community. The practice of nutritional behaviors in colostrum’s feeding and immunization were found quite good among the respondents. The present study concludes that the level of nutrition status between Tharu and Dalit community children did not have any significant difference due to the low impact of socio-economic factors.