engleski

Nutritional status of the Bayash - Roma minority population from eastern Croatia

Whilst it is widely believed that the health of Roma people is often poorer than the majority of population, these inequalities remain largely unresearched. Beginning in 2005, an anthropological and epidemiological survey of the Roma minority population has been undertaken in Croatia. One segment of this survey relates to their health status and includes the analyses of nutritional status and diets. The first phase of the survey focused on the Roma population in the eastern Croatian region of Baranya, approximating 1, 000 according to the 2001 census. It is a Bayash ethnic group that arrived to Croatia from Romania most likely in the 19th century and speaks a distinct archaic dialect of the Romanian language. This report presents anthropometrically assessed nutritional status of 258 adult Bayash in comparison to the non-Roma general population of eastern Croatia. Bayash women fall below the Croatian 10th percentile for stature and men track about the 10th percentile. Both sexes approximate the 25th percentile for body weight. Despite their diminutive size, the Bayash appear to have adequate nutritional status, as indicated by their body mass index (BMI), which ranges between the Croatian 50th and 75th percentiles. However, 8% of Bayash are underweight (BMI<18.5) in contrast to 1% of the majority population in the region. Underweight rates are especially high in women (11%) compared to men (4%). The prevalence of overweight (BMI 25.0 to 29.9) of 30% is considerably lower than in the majority population (42%) while the prevalence of obesity (BMI>or=30.0) of 23% is approximately equal. The Bayash with prevailing unemployment (registered 79%), low levels of education (35% without any formal education), and the majority living from social welfare (69%), have a low socio-economic status and, with very few exceptions, unhealthy dietary habits associated with poverty. Overall, these results highlight the importance of further work on determining body composition and sex differences in lifestyle correlates of nutritional status of the Bayash.

Roma minority ; Bayash ; nutritional status ; BMI ; Croatia

nije evidentirano