How one Karnataka village’s traditional diet is linked to healthy child growth In a village in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, children are growing as well as those in India’s wealthiest households, according to a study that suggests the community’s traditional diet could offer lessons for child nutrition. Children from Baddigere village of the pastoral Gowli community in Mundgod of Uttara Kannada district have heights and weights comparable to those of children in the wealthiest quintile of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, according to a study conducted by the Loyola Vikasa Kendra (LVK). The study examined the relationship between the community’s dietary practices and the oral and general health of children. Researchers collected anthropometric data and conducted oral and physical examinations of 49 children after obtaining parental consent. The study also included focus group discussions, key informant interviews and collection of household dietary data. Permission for the examinations was obtained from the Department of Women and Child Development.  LVK, which has been working with vulnerable communities in Karnataka since 1986, said it had observed during routine checks at anganwadi centres that Gowli children appeared to have lower levels of stunting and underweight, along with better general and oral health than expected.  The findings documented the children in a single Gowli village with 150 households, whose diets rely largely on milk, fermented foods, indigenous livestock and minimally processed ingredients. The study found that 73% of the children had normal height for their age, 88% had normal weight, and were free of infections or illnesses. The report calls for a detailed government study, suggesting that the village’s dietary practices merit closer examination. Read more here #Education #gowli #indigenous #mundgod #Nutrition