A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence of Stunting Among Elementary School Students in Lahore

Abstract

Objective: Our study aims to determine the prevalence of obesity and stunting in Pakistani children between the ages of03 to 12 years.Study design : A Cross-Sectional StudyDuration and place of study: Community Medicine Department University College of Medicine and Dentistry,UOL, Lahore from jan 2022 to jan 2023Method: The study included 65 children between the ages of 3 to 12 years. Age, sex, weight, and height were recordedfor each enrolled patient after obtaining the parents of any minors’ informed written permission. The demographicstatus of mothers was also noted. In relation to the weight of the patients that were included, the frequency of stuntingwas noted. The whole set of data was analyzed using SPSS 28.0.Results: In this research, out of 65 youngsters, 40 (60.4%) were male and 25 (39.6%) were female. The childreninvolved in the study had a mean age of 04.08±13.38 years and a mean weight of 16.15±11.49 kg. Childrenmeasured 104.05 +/- 1.18 cm on average.n-38 (56.4%) of the patients were underweight, n-43 (33.6%) werefat children, and 05 (06.2%) of the patients were very underweight. According to maternal status, the majority ofthem came from low-income families. There were 10 (12.2%) stunted children, of whom 04 (5.4%) were fat andthe remaining 07 (12%) were underweight. Of the ten children with stunting, five (54.6%) were female and four(37.3%) were male.Conclusion: This study highlights a exceptional occurrence of stunting amongst number one school youngsters inLahore, with a great proportion being underweight. Addressing maternal socioeconomic status and imposing focusedinterventions are crucial to mitigate the weight of stunting and promote healthful increase and development in thispopulation.Keywords: Stunting, Children, Lahore, Socioeconomic Status