Diet and nutritional status of pre-school children and nutritional awareness of the mothers of urban slums of Hyderabad

Abstract

These data show that breast feeding is continued upto two years of age in the urban slums of Hyderabad. The mothers were not aware of proper weaning practices. In general, the supplementary foods introduced to infants was not satisfactory in quantity and quality. The diet survey findings reveal that the diet of pre-school children were deficient in milk pulses, greens and vegetables. The children were below the standard weight than other antbropometric meaurements. Deficiency symptoms relating to calories, B complex vitamins and iron were prevalent in a large percentage of the children. Most of the mothers were unaware of the right type of feeding practices in infancy and the preschool age.