Nutritional status of Tujia and Miao minority middle school students in Xiangxi autonomous prefecture

Objective To examine the nutritional status of Tujia and Miao minority middle school students in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture for the improvement of minority students'nutritional status.Methods Totally 3 402 Tujia and Miao minority students were selected and their height and weight were measured and evaluated with the method of height with standard weight.Results In 2009,the malnutrition rate in the Tujia and Miao students was 2.32%(39/1680)and 1.51%(26/1722);the underw eight rate was 21.67%(364/1 680)and 18.82%(324/1 722); the overw eight rate was 7.02%(118/1 680)and 9.47%(163/1 722);the obesity rate was 3.27%(55/1 680)and 4.76%(82/1 722),respectively.The underw eight rate of Tujia students was oviously higher than than of Miao students; the overw eight and obesity rate of Miao students were obviously higher than those of Tujia students.The underw eight rate of female students was higher than that of male students obviously;the obesity rate of the male students was higher than that of the female students obviously.The malnutrition rate of the senior students was higher than that of the junior students and the junior students,especially the junior students in low grade had a higher obesity rate.Conclusion Underand over-nutrition exist in Tujia and Miao minority middle school students at the same time and measures should be taken in different groups according to their different nutritional status.