Dietary Adequacy of Hill Families of Uttarakhand

The present study was conducted on 683 families residing in three district of Uttarakhand viz., Almora, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital to assess their nutritional profile. A village proforma and household proforma was used to collect the general information about the village and families. Dietary adequacy was assessed by 24 hour recall method and mean individual intake of nutrients was compared with the recommended dietary allowances. Results showed that majority of population was literate and only 18.5 per cent females were found to be illiterate. Most of the respondents were housewives and their main occupation was agriculture and animal husbandry. Data revealed that diet of women was inadequate in all the food groups except fat and calcium although intake of protein and iron was found to be closer to the RDA. Whereas average nutrient intake of children (11-15 years) was gravely deficient in micronutrients as well as intake of calorie and protein was also skimpy as compared to RDA.