Child labour and its relationship to Body Mass Index (BMI), school attendance and academic marks

Abstract

To determine the relationship between work and the BMI, average attendance and marks obtained by school children in rural and urban areas of Pondicherry. A cross-sectional study was carried out in the schools situated in the service areas of Jawaharlal Institute Rural Health Center (JIRHC) and Jawaharlal Institute Urban Health Center (JIUHC) of JIPMER, Pondicherry. In all the classes studied, working children in the urban area scored slightly lower marks. In the urban area the average attendance at school among the working children was found to be slightly, but not significantly, lower compared to the non-working children. In rural areas compared to the non-working children, the average BMI of the working children was slightly lower in classes VIII and IX. The average BMI of the working children in the urban area was slightly lower in all the classes compared to the not working children. Key words: Child labour, Body mass index, school attendance, Academic marks, Pondicherry