Age Trends in the Double Burden of Malnutrition(DBM) and Body Composition of the Jaunsari Adults of Uttarakhand, India

To investigate the age trends in body composition related to the double burden of malnutrition (DBM), the present cross-sectional study was conducted among the Jaunsari people living in Lakhamandal village of Dehradun district of Uttarakhand, India. A total of 304 Jaunsari adults (134 males, 170 females, 18-60 years) were randomly selected. Information on their socio-demographic profile was collected through a standardised schedule and anthropometric measurements of height (HT), weight (WT), waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were taken following standard procedure. Derived variables including body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body fat percentage (BF %), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), fat mass index (FMI), and fat-free mass index (FFMI) were calculated. To assess nutritional status including abdominal obesity, the World Health Organization’s recommended cut-off values for BMI, WC and WHR were used. Results revealed the prevalence of overweight-obesity was higher among men than women (23.9 % vs. 22.4 %). Women were more undernourished (32.4 % vs. 26.9 %), but with higher abdominal obesity (WC: 21.2 % vs. 11.9 %, WHR: 30.0 % vs. 14.2 %). With increasing age, the mean values of most of the studied variables increased among women (except HT, FFM, FFMI, WHR). For men, the middle age group (26-39 years) exhibited the highest mean values for variables except BF %, FM, FMI, and WHR. The coexistence of undernutrition and overweight-obesity indicated the threat of DBM, demanding immediate nutritional intervention programmes among this community.