Comparative Assessment of Nutritional Status of School Children Aged 6-8 Years in Selected Urban and Rural Schools of Belagavi – A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background One of the biggest health issues of poor nations is malnutrition. A school survey is beneficial because it is easy to conduct and enables to detect the presence of disease among large number of students of a particular age group.Aim To assess and compare nutritional status of school children in urban and rural schools.Methods In Belagavi district a prospective qualitative study was carried out including 60 children each from urban and rural schools aged 6 to 8 years. The nutritional status of children was determined using the anthropometric parameters such as weight for height weight for age and height for age based on Waterlowrsquos and Gomezs classifications of malnutrition.Results The study included 120 students 60 from rural area and 60 from metropolitan area. Mild wasting was found in 18 urban and 20 rural students moderate wasting was noted in eight urban and 20 rural students while severe wasting was observed in three rural students and normal weight for height was noted in 34 urban and 17 rural students. Mild stunting was observed in 17 urban and 18 rural children moderate stunting in two urban and four rural severe stunting was noted in one child from rural school. Normal height for age according to Waterlowrsquos classification was observed in 41 urban and 37 rural students. According to Gomezs classification mild malnutrition was identified in 17 urban students and 33 rural students moderate malnutrition was found in five urban and six rural students and severe malnutrition was found in one rural student. On comparison of nutritional status of urban and rural children stunting was observed in 19 urban and 23 rural children whereas wasting was identified in 26 urban and 40 rural children. Furthermore malnutrition affected both urban children 22 and rural children 43.Conclusion According to the present study children attending rural schools in Belagavi showed malnutrition more frequently compared to those attending urban schools. The present study will aid in determining the causes of malnutrition and the most effective ways to prevent it in both urban and rural settings.nbsp