A Longitudinal growth study of weight among Lodha and Non-Lodha infants and young children of Lodhasuli, West Bengal, India

This is the first community based longitudinal study among the Lodha tribals and non-Lodha children of Lodhasuli, West Bengal, India. The objective of the present longitudinal growth study was to compare the growth in weight of Lodha (tribal) children with the non-Lodha children of two different nearby villages of Midnapore. The weight of 44 boys and 55 girls, from poor-class families in tribal and rural part of the Lodhasuli, Midnapore, were taken at one month interval over periods of up to 24 months. Independent sample test were used to compare the weight between sex and caste. Significant differences (p<0.001) in weight among both boys and girls were observed. significant deviations (p<0.001) in weight were also observed from the NCHS data.