Nutritional Status Among Primary School Going Children Living in Urban Area of Sindh Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Children's health is very important for their better learning and timely nourishment everywhere in the world. Malnutrition among school going children has remained a big challenge in under developed countries. Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 children of four Government Primary schools of Qasimabad, district Hyderabad after taking the proper consent and administration approval from the head of school. Multi stage simple random sampling technique was adopted. Study was approved from Institutional review board of Health Services Academy Islamabad. Results: Out of total, 217 (51.4%) were boys and 205 (48.6%) were girls. Mean Height of boys and girls were 128.09 cm (±SD 12.90) and 130.36 cm (±SD 12.50) respectively. Mean Weight of boys was 25.27 Kgs (±SD 6.17) while in girls mean Weight was 26.83 Kgs (±SD 7.03). 17.57 cm (±SD 2.34) was mean MUAC for all participants and mean BMI was 15.42 (±SD 2.02). Prevalent of stunting and wasting were 24.4% and 18.3% respectively. While in 13.7% thinness (BMI for age) was seen. Stunting was statistically significant in girls 9-10 year (p value=.015, CI: .118-.823, OR=.311) and 11-≥12 years (p value=.018, CI: .215-.874, OR=.434). Pallor was more in girls (17%) and Dental caries were higher in boys (20.8%). Insufficient breakfast was done by 347 (82.2%), whereas 75 (17.8%) were doing sufficient breakfast. 341 (80.8%) students became ill during last year, out of that 80 (19%) were having history of hospitalization. Conclusion: Poor polices and lack of food aid interventions regarding health of primary school going children was assessed during this study.

Nutritional Status and Dietary Intake of School-Age Children and Early Adolescents: Systematic Review in a Developing Country and Lessons for the Global Perspective

“…The studies were conducted between the years 2002 and 2020 in different cities across Pakistan. Twenty-eight studies reported data specifically on children between 5 and 15 years of age ( 19 , 21 – 23 , 25 – 29 , 31 , 32 , 35 , 38 , 44 , 45 , 47 – 50 , 52 , 54 , 55 , 59 , 60 , 62 – 64 , 67 ). The remaining 23 studies had children in our age group of interest but beyond it too, with seven reporting data on children between 0 and 19 years of age ( 24 , 34 , 51 , 56 , 58 , 61 , 65 ) and 16 reporting on children 5 and 19 years of age ( 18 , 20 , 30 , 33 , 36 , 37 , 39 – 43 , 46 , 53 , 57 , 66 , 68 ).…”

“…There were only five studies that reported data specifically on children in the 5 to 10 age group ( 29 , 34 , 64 – 66 ) and only three studies in the 10 to 15 years age group ( 21 , 24 , 47 ). Province wise; 20 studies were conducted in Punjab ( 19 , 22 , 24 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 39 , 40 , 44 , 46 , 52 – 54 , 58 , 65 , 67 ), 15 in Sindh ( 18 , 20 , 21 , 23 , 30 , 32 , 36 – 38 , 43 , 45 , 49 , 55 , 63 ), eight in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KP) ( 26 , 34 , 35 , 47 , 48 , 50 , 61 , 64 ), two in Balochistan ( 25 , 51 ), four from the federal capital ( 27 , 42 , 66 , 68 ), and three from multiple cities across Pakistan ( 41 , 56 , 57 ). The remaining three studies failed to report their location ( 33 , 59 , 62 ).…”

“…Forty studies were carried out in a school setting ( 15 , 16 , 19 – 22 , 24 – 40 , 42 , 44 – 52 , 55 , 58 , 59 , 61 , 63 – 65 ), nine in community setting ( 21 , 27 , 45 , 47 , 57 , 58 , 60 , 61 , 66 ), and two studies did not specify ( 22 , 64 ). Of the forty conducted in schools, 22 studies were conducted across both government and private schools ( 18 , 20 , 23 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 40 , 43 , 44 , 48 , 52 – 54 , 56 , 62 , 67 , 68 ), seven in private schools exclusively ( 19 , 25 , 30 , 36 , 39 , 41 , 65 ), and five were carried out in government schools ( 32 , 33 , 49 , 50 , 55 ). Six studies did not specify their study setting ( 34 , 42 , 46 , 51 , 59 , 63 ).…”

“…There were two studies which reported nutritional status amongst children affected by natural disasters ( 47 , 50 ) and two on child laborers ( 45 , 68 ). For the age group of 5–15 years particularly, 17 studies reported anthropometric indices with respect to gender ( 19 , 21 – 23 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 35 , 38 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 54 , 60 , 62 , 63 ), 18 with respect to geographic setting; urban or rural ( 19 , 21 – 23 , 26 – 29 , 32 , 35 , 38 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 52 , 63 , 67 ), three with respect to socioeconomic status ( 29 , 35 , 52 ) and eight with respect to school attended; private or government ( 19 , 26 , 28 , 32 , 44 , 49 , 62 , 65 ).…”

“…The included studies in this review targeted 62,148 individuals. Two studies had a sample size of >10,000 ( 56 , 57 ), 14 studies had a sample size of 1,000–9,999 individuals ( 21 , 24 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 37 , 42 , 47 – 49 , 51 , 54 , 55 , 58 ), six had a sample size of 500–999 ( 18 , 30 , 33 , 38 , 53 , 60 ), 27 studies between 100 and 499 ( 19 , 20 , 22 , 23 , 25 – 27 , 32 , 34 – 36 , 39 – 41 , 43 – 46 , 50 , 52 , 59 , 62 , 64 – 68 ), and two studies with a sample size of <100 individuals ( 61 , 63 ).…”