Anthropometric Measurements in Rural School Children

Abstract

Anthropometric measurements of 1012 rural school-going children, selected randomly, were performed. There were 776 males and 236 females in the age group of 5-15 years. The values of weight and height were recorded for every child in the study sample. Age and sex break-up was studied and compared with the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) standard. The comparison made separately for boys and girls showed that the values for both sexes and in all age groups were less than the ICMR standard. The majority (83.6%) of the children belonged to the middle and low social class according to the modified Prasad's classification. An inference is, therefore, drawn that rural school children of middle and low socio-economic status are shorter and lighter as compared with even their own counterparts on whom the ICMR values are based. The state of health of school-going children in India is far from satisfactory despite the fact that school health programmes along with other nutritional programmes have been in operation for several decades. School-going children constitute a sizeable section of India's population, i.e. about 27%, which is easily accessible and also receptive. An early and convenient method of assessing nutritional and socio-economic status of growing children is anthropometry. Physical growth, in terms of weight and height, is considered an important parameter reflecting the pattern of growth and development in a community. In the developing countries, the growing children by and large are deprived of good nutrition on account of their poor socio-economic status, ignorance and lack of health promotional facilities. This nutritional deprivation results in relative stunting of growth.

Nutritional Status, Dietary Food and Nutrient Consumption Patterns in Monga Affected Area of the Northern Part of Bangladesh

“…It is much less common and usually less severe in adults as compare to children of school going age. The school going children are more prone to under nutrition due to high demand of nutrient in growing age and associate with poor socioeconomic status, ignorance and lack of health promotional facilities (Khan et al, 1990). According to Nutrition, Health and Demographic Survey of Bangladesh, 2011, the higher prevalence of stunting (42%) and underweight (45%) were observed in rural areas and 18% children were severely stunted in rural areas (Akhtaruzzaman et al, 2013).…”

The Standard Physical Growth Chart for Saudi Arabian Preschool Children

“…It is also well documented that the birth weight of boys is higher than that of girls and with good nutrition and environmental sanitation, is expected to continue until, perhaps, the age of puberty for girls [19,23]. However, the growth patterns observed are comparable to situations found in similar communities in the Middle East [20,[21][22][23][24][25][26]. Although the present study is based on the population in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the selection of sample covered all socioeconomic classes of Saudi Arabia [8].…”

Comparison of nutritional status between patients from urban area with rural area undergoing hemodialysis in Kushtia district, Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

“…Undernutrition remains as a serious problem among poor families and of under-developed nations, resulting from consumption of poor diet over a long period of time (Awan, 1997). Protein energy malnutrition has been a common health problem of the third world (Khan et al, 1990). Nutritional assessment is the process whereby the state of nutritional health of an individual or group of individuals is determined.…”