The term “transgender” is used as an umbrella to describe people who “have gender identities, expressions or behaviors not traditionally associated with their birth sex”. MTF and FTM are the two gender identities which have been widely noted in transgender literature. The study aims at unraveling the nutritional status of the selected transgender in Coimbatore city. One hundred and twenty subjects from the age group of 20-70 years were selected from the locale by using Convenience sampling method. A detailed interview schedule was used to collect their demographic profile, lifestyle patterns, psychological aspects and assessment of nutritional status of the community was done by adopting standardized procedure were studied. Dietary survey was carried out to collect data on dietary history and dietary intake of the selected transgender using 24 hour recall method for three consecutive days. Biochemical parameters namely fasting and post prandial blood glucose level and blood pressure were analyzed and recorded to found the persons at risk of diet related diseases. Statistical analysis was applied to find the significance of their nutritional status based on the type of their activity in comparison to the Recommended Dietary Allowances. Findings of the study was based on the WHO (2004), 15 percent were underweight, 63 percent were ideal weight, and 20 percent were overweight. It was seen that two percent were obese as they consumed hormonal tablets as a process of transition for the development of secondary sex organs. Transgender community lacked a healthy life style pattern; and their mean nutrient intake was much below the standard values. Hence they lack the basic nutrients that are needed for a healthy living. Most of the transgender (92%) preferred non-vegetarian foods and consumed weekly. Emotional changes have an impact on the food consumption pattern. They have inadequate nutrients as they are subjected to rejection, racism and lack of medical health care. Transgender people may eat more or skip meals leading to malnutrition, obesity etc. Thus nutrition education plays a vital role in improving their standard of living and also the importance of consuming adequate nutrition. The major disease conditions were identified and pamphlets were prepared in local languages and distributed among the subjects to improve the health status.
