Nutritional Status Of Rural Children Research Articles

Determinants of children's nutritional status across agricultural and non-agricultural households in rural Bangladesh.

While child health reflects a country’s state of well-being; Bangladesh struggles to make a comprehensive success in reducing its widespread child under-nutrition. The key interest of this paper is to understand what determines the nutritional status of rural children in Bangladesh and how these determinants compare between agricultural and non-agricultural households. Based on a sample of 1,444 children drawn from rural Bangladesh, this study estimates the extent to which measures of child under-nutrition (underweight and stunting) are associated with child, parent, household, and community level variables. The estimates of Logit regressions suggest that variables such as birth weight, parents’ health, mother’s education, and prevalence of health care facilities at village significantly reduces the probability of underweight and stunting. This paper also finds that agricultural and non-agricultural households differ in respect of what determines the children’s nutrition in these households. The policy implication of this study is that government initiatives aiming at reducing child under-nutrition in rural Bangladesh should recognise that any generic measures may not bring about the optimal result given the diversity of rural households. Thus, this paper may be useful in designing better interventions for improving health and nutrition of the rural children of Bangladesh as well as similar Southeast Asian countries.

Evaluation of the nutritional status of rural children living in Zambia

BackgroundGrowth references (growth charts) are used to assess the nutritional and growth status of children. In developed countries, there are growth charts based on the country’s national surveys. However, many developing countries do not have their own growth references, so they usually use WHO and US CDC references. In such cases, it is known that the growth statuses of the subject are underestimated or overestimated. This study sought to accurately assess the growth status of children by developing a local growth chart for children living in the Southern Province of Zambia.MethodsAnthropometric measurements were conducted on 1135 children aged 2–19 years in the target area. The height and weight data for each sex and age were smoothed using the LMS method, and a percentile curve of height and weight was developed. Based on the US CDC reference, three indicators of undernutrition (stunting, underweight, and thinness) were calculated to determine the proportion of those who are undernourished (z-score < − 2).ResultsThe 50th percentile curve of height and weight in the growth chart of the target population was equivalent to the 5–25th percentile curve of the US reference, and the children of Zambia were both small and of low weight. Conversely, although many subjects are small and of low weight, it was found that there were few poor nutritional statuses as judged by BMI. Through comparison with a previous study in the Southern Province of Zambia, a secular change in the growth of children over 20 years was found. Although there was no significant increase in height and weight in the older age group, there was a significant increase in height and weight at an earlier age. This is thought to be due to an increase in the growth rate of children due to improved socioeconomic conditions, women’s education level, and improvement in health care standards.ConclusionsThe subjects were small and of low weight compared to the US population, but the nutritional status was not poor by BMI. The height and weight at an earlier age increased compared to 20 years ago.

Nutritional status of children in rural areas of the Komi Republic and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Yugra by anthropometric data

A characteristic feature of the "global obesity epidemic" in recent decades is the rapid spread of overweight among the rural population. However, there is a lack of objective data on how this process is unfolding in the northern and Arctic regions of the Russian Federation. The aim of the work was to analyze the prevalence of malnutrition and rates of overweight and obesity in children living in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Yugra (KhMAO) and the Komi Republic (KR). Material and methods. We conducted a study of the nutritional status of rural children in the northern regions of the Russian Federation in 2018-2019. The subjects of the study were children aged 3-17 years of KhMAO, ethnic Khanty, Mansi and of various non-indigenous descent in small remote settlements (n=302) and 956 children in the administrative center of the northern district, a town-type residency. We also examined 7-17-year-old children (n=628) in large settlements of the KR, over 90% of them were ethnic Komi. For each individual, body mass index values (BMI) were calculated. The nutritional status was assessed by comparing the individual BMI with the age and sex specific standards set by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (2017). Results and discussion. 74.4% of children aged 3-6 in KhMAO, and 70% of the 7-17-year-old children of KR and KhMAO meet the standards for their age-sex groups; 6.1% of children aged 3-17 are underweight and 19.5% are overweight. Among the 7-17-year-olds, the ratio of the underweight and overweight (including obese) differs significantly in the settlement dwellers of the KR from that in the living in small settlements of KhMAO (p=0.004), as well as in the group of town residents of KhMAO (p=0.017). The children of the KR have slightly higher percentage of the overweight and obese (26.6 vs 25.7 and 24.8% in the town and settlements of KhMAO, respectively), but significantly lower percentage of those who are underweight (1.9 vs 5.0 and 6.8%). The proportion of obese schoolchildren in small remote settlements of KhMAO is higher than that in the large settlements of KhMAO and in large settlements of the KR (13.1, 7.7 and 9.2%, respectively). Conclusion. There were no differences found between ethnic groups, however the role of social and anthropological factors in the formation of the nutritional status differences between the indigenous and non-indigenous children in Western Siberia calls for further investigation.

"Assessment of Nutritional Status of Rural Children (0-18 years) in Central India Using World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards 2007".

Background:The World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards (“WHO Standards”) 2007 are the most recent and updated indicators which provide a single international standard that represents the best description of physiological growth for all children.Objectives:The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition as per anthropometric indicators, namely underweight, stunting, and wasting among rural children in Raipur district, Chhattisgarh, using the WHO Child Growth Standards.Materials and Methods:Nutritional assessment of children was conducted in rural areas using standard anthropometric measurements of height and weight. Totally 10,730 children were screened in 61 schools and 30 Anganwadis belonging to 26 villages across 3 major blocks in Raipur district, Chhattisgarh, during June 2013 to February 2018. Weight-for-age, height-for-age, and body mass index-for-age z-scores were calculated using WHO AnthroPlus software.Results:The prevalence of underweight (≤2 standard deviation) was 45.7% in the children examined. The prevalence of stunting and wasting was 40.4% and 22.0%, respectively. Twenty-two of the 26 villages screened reported malnutrition in more than 30.0% of children, namely every third child lags behind in his or her growth curve despite the Mid-Day Meal Program implemented across the nation including this region since several decades.Conclusion:Malnutrition remains an ongoing health problem in school-going children. WHO AnthroPlus software can be very useful for analysis of state- and national-level data of nutritional status of children and could be used to shape health policies for this age group accordingly.

Пищевой статус сельских детей севера Европейской части РФ и Сибири (по данным антропометрии)

Пищевой статус сельских детей севера Европейской части РФ и Сибири (по данным антропометрии)

Assessment of nutritional status of rural children (2-5 years) in Udaipur district

The nutritional status of 80 children (2-5years) in udaipur district was studied. Personal interviews consisting, 24 hour dietary recall of children was used. Amount of nutrients obtained per day from food consumed was calculated and compared with RDA for Indian children. Anthropometric measurements including weight and height were used to identify the physical condition of children. Waterlow’s, Gomez’s classification BMI-for-age determined the extent of mal-nutrition in children and were compared with IAP standards. The height, weight and BMI of all respondents were significantly (p<0.05) lower than the reference value. As per Waterlow’s and Gomez’s classification, only 11.25 per cent of the children were normal. 87.5 per cent of the children were wasted and 41.25 per cent severely malnourished. Food consumption patterns indicated that except fat, diet consumed lacked all major and minor nutrients required for growth of children. Nutritional inadequacies, poverty, lack of infrastructure and poor education of mother resulted in severe mal-nutrition in children. This condition needs careful consideration. Steps like nutritional interventions and women education programmes organized along with governmental and non-governmental groups can help in improving this condition.

An Epidemiological Study of Nutritional Status of Rural Children in Jaipur District (Raj.)

Background: Uncontrolled fertility in rural areas without the requisite economic and social infrastructure has resulted in a great problem of malnutrition among the under five children of rural population. Their nutritional status is far from being satisfactory. Objectives: To determine the nature and extent of the health and nutritional problems of under-five rural children, to highlight the various factors contributing to the health and nutritional problems, and to develop a project for solving the nutritional and health problems. Method and Material: A cross sectional epidemiological study was conducted in field practice area of Rural Health Training Center, Achrol village, district Jaipur (Rajasthan). The mothers or care givers of under-fives were interviewed and the children were examined clinically with the help of a pre-designed, pre-tested pro-forma after taking informed consent. WHO Child Growth Standards were used to assess the nutritional status of children. Results were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: In present study of rural children, out of 334 children 137 (41.01%) were found to suffer from various grades of malnutrition. Among malnourished 45.98% were male and 54.01% were female under-fives. 42.33% children belonged to nuclear family, 29.92% to joint family and 27.73% children belonged to three generation type of family among the malnourished children. 35.03% of malnourished children were delivered at hospital and remaining 64.96% were delivered at home. Among the malnourished only 5.10% mothers were studied up to secondary and above, a majority i.e. 46.71% were illiterate. 41.60% malnourished children were having three and more siblings. Third and above birth order children suffered more from malnutrition (44.52%). Among malnourished only 12.81% were weaned by 4-6 months.SC (48.17%)/ST/OBC (33.57%) children suffered more from malnutrition than general caste. Malnourished children were from grade I (3.64%), grade II (6.56%), grade III (25.54%), grade IV (29.19%) and grade V (35.03%). Most of the malnourished belonged to the age group 2-3yrs (48.90%) and 3-5yrs (35.03%). 56.93% female and 43.06% male were among the malnourished children. 40.87% malnourished were from grade I, 29.19% were from grade II, 18.24% were from grade III, and 11.67% were from IV grade of malnutrition. Vit. A deficiency was observed in 7.29% malnourished, Vit. D deficiency in 11.67% malnourished, Vit. B. deficiency in 18.97% malnourished, and Protein deficiency was observed in 17.5% of malnourished children in present study. Most of the deficiency signs were seen in 2-3 years and 3-5 yrs age groups. Conclusion: Malnutrition is the most widespread condition affecting the health of children. Scarcity of suitable foods, lack of purchasing power of the family as well as traditional beliefs and taboos about what the baby should eat, often lead to an insufficient balanced diet, resulting in malnutrition. Keywords: Deficiency, Illiteracy, Malnutrition, Under-fives

Does Greater Autonomy Among Women Provide the Key to Better Child Nutrition?

We examine the link between a mother’s autonomy - the freedom and ability to think, express, act and make decisions independently - and the nutritional status of her children. We design a novel statistical framework that accounts for cultural and traditional environment, to create a measure of maternal autonomy, a concept that has rarely been examined previously as a factor in children’s nutritional outcomes. Using data from the Third Round of the National Family Health Survey for India, supplemented with our qualitative survey, and accounting for “son preference” by limiting analysis to first-born children under 18 months of age, we document that maternal autonomy has a positive impact on the long-term nutritional status of rural children.

English

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Under nutrition continues to be a primary cause of ill-health among children in developing countries. The objective was to study Nutritional status of rural children between ages 6 months to 5 years. SETTING AND DESIGN: Our study area was villages of Vadodara District of Gujarat where 250 children were randomly selected aged between 6 months- 5years. METHODS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data was collected by interview, physical examination and then statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The prevalence of moderate stunting and moderate wasting was 52.8% and 47.2%, severe stunting and wasting was in 15.2% and 19.6% children respectively. There was no significant age wise or sex wise difference statistically in prevalence of under nutrition. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: There are significant number of undernourished children in the study area. Nutrition education and regular growth monitoring are

Nutritional Status of Rural Children (9 to 11 years) From Different Agro-climatic Zones of Punjab

The health and nutritional status of the children is an index of the National investment in the development of its future manpower. The national policies and schemes for children have received supreme importance in national development programmes. These have laid down programmes to provide optimum conditions for balanced growth of the countrys children the highest priority being given to child health. Most of the work that has been conducted on nutritional status of children is limited to infants and preschool children only. There is dearth of information on nutritional status of school going children particularly from rural areas of Punjab. Whatever data is available on this age group is confined to one small area or location only. But none of the studies is available on inter-zonal differences in nutritional status of children (9-11 yrs.) particularly children living in different agro-climatic zones of Punjab. (excerpt)

Ecologic Study of Nutritional Status of Ecuadorean Children

The nutritional status of children is the product of many ecologic factors, including social, cultural, economic, educational, and emotional, as well as the biologic determinants. A descriptive study has been conducted to evaluate the relative importance of these variables to the nutritional status of rural and urban Ecuadorean children. Two hundred twenty-four families were evaluated. One hundred ninety-four of the families studied constitute the present investigation. Significant differences were observed between urban and rural populations in terms of maternal age and maternal education. The average ingestion of animal proteins is much lower in the rural populations. Nutritional status is inferior in the rural children. Multiple regression equations revealed a strong correlation between the nutritional status of the children and the ingestion of animal proteins. However, in specific population groups, a relationship was also evident between vegetable protein and nutritional status. Sociocultural environmental variables were significantly correlated with nutritional status; however, these variables differed in ranks of importance among the various rural and urban population groups. It can be concluded that the nutritional status of the rural children is substantially less than that of the urban study group. The ecologic factors vary in relative importance among these study groups and appear to be specific in their impact on the nutritional status.

Some quantitative considerations of importance to the improvement of the nutritional status of rural children.

The importance of a detailed quantitative assessment of the existing dietary and nutritional status of a community before the planning of an intervention programme, as well as the subsequent evaluation of the short and long-term effectiveness of the programme, are emphasized. Practical problems surrounding the measurement of dietary intake of individuals and communities are considered and details of improved methodologies provided. Ways of assessing nutritional health status by clinical examination, anthropometry, morphology and biochemistry are also dealt with and their individual shortcomings discussed. Another feature which is emphasized is the close relation between nutrient intake and the pattern of infection in determining nutritional status. Specific quantitative examples are provided from prospective longitudinal studies which have been carried out in Uganda and The Gambia. The integration of different types of health data into the formulation of an integrated preventive nutritional programme is also reviewed.