Abstract
Background: India is the largest contributor of undernourished people in the world with around 14.37% of its population not receiving enough nutrition.The prevalence of malnutrition was 46.8%. Nutritional deficiencies in India contributed to about 0.5% of all deaths.This study,helps us to determine the prevalence and risk factors of protein energy undernutrition and specific micronutrient deficiency among school going children in a selected school of Puducherry. Methods: This is a cross sectional study conducted in school going children studying 5th to 10th standard in government and private high school in Puducherry. After getting consent from the parents, in-person interview was conducted, anthropometric measurement and head-to-toe examinations were done Results: Among 428 participants, 28.7%, 15.2%, 11.4%,0.7%, 13.1%,1.9%0.7%1.4%, 9.6%,9.6% 53% has Anemia, Riboflavin deficiency, vitamin C, Iodine, Fluoride excess, Fluoride deficiency, Zinc, Calcium and Essential fatty acids respectively. Among 428 participants, 56.1%, 8.4% were moderately stunted and severe stunted respectively. It was noted that height for age was statistically significant with Sex and age (p value < 0.05). Conclusions: Early detection of protein energy deficiency and nutritional deficiencies will aid in the development of our country in many ways since youngsters are the future foundations of our society.
Published Version
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