Aim: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of undernutrition among Bengalee children of Purba Medinipur. Stunting, wasting and underweight were used to assess the prevalence of under-nutrition among children. However, these indices were not properly determined appropriate prevalence due to overlapping condition, but Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) is a single measure to assess the prevalence of under-nutrition which is better than other indices for the determination of undernutrition among children.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among school going Bengalee children of Desopran block and Haldia municipality of Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. Total no. of participants were 622 aged 6 to 10 years. Among them 307 and 315 were boys and girls, respectively. Age and sex specific nutritional status of the subjects was assessed using height-for-age, weight-for-height, and weight-for-age as per NCHS guidelines and CIAF (Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure) was also computed as per standard methodology.

Results: Boys were taller and heavier than girls. Significant age variations were noticed in anthropometric variables. Prevalence of wasting, stunting and underweight were 21.0%, 31.0%, and 41.9%, respectively. Moreover, prevalence of CIAF was 55.3% among the studied children. Result also revealed that rate of CIAF was much higher than the other three conventional indicators.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that undernutrition among the school going children was very high and might be treated as a serious health problem. Appropriate authorities should take immediate remedial measures to reduce the rate of undernutrition. Similar studies should also be conducted from other regions of West Bengal.