Nutrition and Health among Indian Tribes: With Reference to Eastern India

India has the second largest concentration of tribal communities in the world followed by Africa. According to 2011 census, there are 104,281,034 persons of scheduled tribes in India, comprising 8.6% of the total population. The health status of any community is influenced by a number of factors including socio-economy, culture, demography, education and politics. Health is an essential aspect of human development and also a vital component for the well being of the mankind. But, the health status of tribal populations is poor and this is poorest among primitive tribes. Being the poorest and most marginalized groups in India, tribal people experience extreme levels of health deprivation. They lag behind the national average on several vital health indicators, with women and children being the most vulnerable. This is mainly because of their isolation and remoteness. Thus, the health status of tribal communities in India is in need of special attention. Tribal health can be measured by various factors such as nutritional status, life expectancy, maternal mortality rates, disability rates, suicide rates, drug addiction, crime, juvenile delinquency. The tribes of India have diverse health related problems with heavy burden of communicable, non-communicable and genetic diseases. The absence of proper health education, poverty and irrational beliefs worsen the health and nutritional status of these deprived people in India. They are most exploited, neglected, and highly vulnerable to diseases with high degree of malnutrition, morbidity and mortality. We are dedicating this volume to the issues of Nutrition and Health of tribes in Eastern India. It is an assemblage of scientific papers on different aspects of tribal health and nutrition in eastern part of India.…