NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF TEENAGERS IN URBAN AREA IN BAGHPAT, U.P.

Abstract

The active rising stage of childhood is referred to as school age. Children's malnutrition is one of India's most significant problems. This issue is still being addressed throughout the country. Malnutrition, which is caused by insufficient nutrition, weakens the immune system and causes significant developmental delays. The key metric for determining a child's nutritional and health condition, as well as an indirect indication of well-being for adults, is development assessment. We used a predesigned and pre-tested questionnaire, anthropometric assessments, and clinical analysis to conduct a cross-sectional study in urban slums of Baghpat, U.P. India, from August 2021 to October 2021 to investigate nutritional status in school-age slum children and examine factors associated with malnutrition. The mean height and weight of boys and girls in the sample population were lower below the CDC 2000 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines in all age groups. In terms of nutritional status, the age group 11 to 13 years had the highest incidence of stunting and underweight, whereas the age group 5 to 7 years had the highest prevalence of wasting. However, all illnesses are more common in children with refractive defects, although only anaemia and rickets have a statistically significant gender disparity. Malnutrition was shown to be substantially greater among children born in communal homes, infants whose mothers' training was [below or comparable to] 6th grade, and infants of working moms. The majority of our impoverished school-aged children were found malnourished. Food and nutrition knowledge based on skills, nutritional fortification, proactive infection prevention, public healthcare staff preparation, and delivery of comprehensive services are all encouraged.