Anthropometric characteristics and evaluation of nutritional status amongst female brick field workers of the unorganized sectors of West Bengal, India

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the body composition and hand grip strength as indirect measures of nutritional status of 162 female workers and the status of the serum oxidative stress enzymes of 35 female workers engaged in the manual brick making units of the unorganized sectors of West Bengal, India.Results show that the waist-hip ratio values (mean 0.79 vs. 0.83; p = 0.0034) are significantly greater amongst the brick carriers than the moulders. The body density (mean 1067.0 vs. 1056.0 kg/m3; p < 0.0001) is lower and the body fat % (mean 10.63% vs. 13.09%; p < 0.0001) of the brick carriers is significantly higher. The hand grip strength (HGS) (horizontal) of the brick workers in right (mean 379.52 vs. 267.72 N; p < 0.0001) and left (mean 268.78 vs. 162.79 N; p < 0.0001) hands are significantly greater than the control group. The serum malondialdehyde level is significantly higher (mean 99.97 vs. 160.21 nmol/mg of protein; p < 0.0001) but the superoxide dismutase level (mean 6.71 vs. 3.34 unit/mg of protein; p < 0.0001), glutathione level (GSH) (mean 3.93 vs. 2.11 μg/mg of protein; p < 0.0001) and glutathione-s-transferase (GST) activity (mean 5.4 vs. 2.73 nmole/min/mg of protein; p < 0.0001) are significantly lower than that of the control group.The indirect nutritional assessments have shown that the women are poorly nourished. The hand grip strength is quite high in both groups of workers but consecutively decreases with the passage of time. Reduced levels of GSH and GST indicate that there is a higher level of reactive oxygen species inducing oxidative stress in the body. The probable causes of this state might be the intake of less nutritious food, polluted environment, excess ambient temperature and improper workstation.