A comparative study of the nutritional status of children in urban and rural areas of Kwara state, Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the nutritional status of children in urban and rural areas of Kwara State, Nigeria. The height, weight, chest, head and mid-upper-arm circumferences of 2,246 Kwaran children aged 2 to 13 years were measured. The preponderance of the weights of both urban and rural Kwaran children were below 99% of Harvard standard. In the rural area (Shao), both the male and female children weighed less than 90% and 99% of Harvard standard, respectively. In the urban school children, 7.6% of the male and 14.9% of the female weighed over 100% of Harvard standard. Children in urban areas had better anthropometric indices compared to their rural counterparts. It was concluded that children in rural areas are at risk of Protein Energy Malnutrition therefore, there is an urgant need for nutritionists, agriculturists and other primary health care workers to form multidisciplinary teams to assist rural dwellers to correct growth deficits in children.

The influence of socioeconomic status on the hemoglobin level and anthropometry of sickle cell anemia patients in steady state at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital

“…As such it is not surprising that a random selection of Nigerians had poorer growth characteristics. This is in agreement with Janes, [13] and Osinusi and Oyejide [17] who observed similar findings in the growth characteristics in underprivileged and elite children. However, some other authors [18] have documented comparable anthropometric measurements between healthy elite children and those of NCHS standard.…”

Prevalence and correlates of growth failure in young African patients with sickle cell disease

“…The weight deficit was more severe than the height deficit, which concurs with previous studies performed in the USA (Platt et al, 1984) and in Nigeria (Ebomoyi et al, 1989). Both deficits were more profound in males than in females, as previously reported (Phebus et al, 1984;Silva & Viana, 2002;Mitchell et al, 2009).…”

“…Such interventions have already led to a dramatic improvement in survival. However, data concerning growth impairment in African patients with SCD rely on small sample size (Esezobor et al, 2016;Odetunde et al, 2016) or outdated studies (Ebomoyi et al, 1989).…”

Nutritional status, hospitalization and mortality among patients with sickle cell anemia in Tanzania

“…Our data suggest a similar or lower prevalence of malnutrition in SCA compared to other African studies. [20][21][22] Unsurprisingly, compared to patients enrolled in comprehensive care programs in the USA 23,24 or the UK, 25 Tanzanian SCA patients experience a greater prevalence of malnutrition compared to local controls. For example, in 178 American SCA children (0-18 years), the proportion who were ever less than the US National Center Health Statistics (NCHS) 5 th percentile for height, weight or BMI during four years of follow up was 22-26%, 12 compared to 36-38% less than the 2.5 th percentile (<-2 SD) for height and weight in our cohort at baseline.…”