Population and Health Disparity in Indian Culture

Indian Culture (Punjab)
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Indian Culture (Punjab)
Many communities across the globe are not spared of health disparities. Equally, the Punjab community is struggling with health inequalities in India modified by culture. While, in many ways, cultural heritage acts as a source of richness and strength, cultural influences sometimes give rise to challenges in the context of managing presenting illnesses by impeding efforts geared towards managing the sickness. The Northwest state of India, Punjab, is a substantial portion of the country's total geographical area. Socio-culturally, Punjab is divided into three regions, i.e., Malwa, Majha, and Doaba (Kaur, Bains & Kaur, 2017). Examining health inequalities is instrumental in contextualizing health in socioeconomically vulnerable groups in India amidst rapid economic growth n a culturally unique environment.
Culture plays a crucial role as a social determinant of health. However, it is always difficult to singly look at culture without considering its intricate interaction with socio-economic and political factors. What creates or constructs the Punjab people's culture?' is it possible to conceptualize culture without the economic, social, and political structure of the Punjab community? This interconnectedness between cultures, socio-economic, and political development underpins how health status is often determined directly or indirectly via these factors' interaction.
Malnutrition is one of the critical areas of concern that is causing health disparities in Punjab. The cultural practices of Punjab people can be indirectly linked to dietary practices. Punjab has the lowest level of hunger in India. However, Punjab lags behind in social development, especially in the area of health of children (Kaur, Bains & Kaur, 2017).
Despite immense progress in food productivity and sustainability in Punjab, the state has not fully translated its agricultural-led economic growth into improvements in nutritional conditions (Bhatia, 2013). In the study findings, the average height of the children across various age groups was marginally lower in all the three cultural regions of Punjab, thinness was more common than stunting among Punjabi school children, and the average weight of the subjects from three regions of Punjab was lower than the reference standards (Kaur, Bains & Kaur, 2017). In a survey study, 97% of the children were anaemic, out of which 80 vs. 17% were moderately and mildly anaemic, respectively, and dietary iron intake of the children was grossly insufficient ( Kaur, Bains & Kaur, 2018). Thus, anaemia prevalence depends more on food habits and dietary behaviour of the children than on socio-economic factors where the predominantly starch-based monotonous poor quality diets with minimal amounts of meat, vegetables, and fruits, largely contribute to the rising incidence...