Assessment of nutrition and its effect on scholastic performance of school going children in rural field practice area of Jhalawar Medical College, Jhalawar, Rajasthan

Abstract

Background: Health is a universal human need. School going children constitute one-fifth of the total population and are the future of the nation. The health supervision of school going children is necessary and can help identify the magnitude of morbidity and malnourishment in a community. Malnutrition is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and economic costs in developing countries. In most part of our country, the children in rural areas are nutritionally deprived and are prone to illnesses. A child who is undernourished owing to socioeconomic or other reasons is prone to get diseases and often misses classes and therefore may not perform well in the examinations. Objectives of current study were to assess the nutrition of children attending a government school in rural field practice area of Jhalawar Medical College and to study the association of nutritional status with scholastic performance.Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among children studying in the Government School of Mandawar, Rajasthan. Demographic and socio-economic variables were obtained. Their nutritional status was calculated in terms of weight for height and weight for age and were assessed clinically for presence of any diseases. Attendance and grades were obtained from class teacher to assess the scholastic performance.Results: Out of 122 students studied, based on the anthropometric measurements, dietary intake and physical examination, nutrition status was found good among 77 (63%) students and poor in 45 (37%) students. Students with good nutritional status are more likely to have good scholastic performance.Conclusions: Nutrition impacts the attendance and grades of the students.