Assessment of nutritional status of school going children in rural Mangalore, south India: A cross sectional study

Background: Health and nutrition in early stages of human life determine, to a great extent, the physical and mental well-being of a person. In a developing country like India, poverty undoubtedly constitutes a major factor for malnutrition in children. The present study was done to assess the nutritional status of a school going children in rural area of Mangalore in-order to take further steps in improving their health status. Objective: To assess the Nutritional status of School going children of Rural Mangalore. Materials and Method: A Descriptive, Cross sectional study was done in four Government schools in rural Mangalore. 478 children from Primary and Secondary level schools were enrolled during the School health program. Anthropometric measurements were recorded following standard procedures to assess the nutritional status. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data using SPSS software version 16. Results: Out of 478 children 21.3% were stunted, 54.6% were Under-Weight and 51.4% were suffering from Thinness. Stunting and Under-weight were more common in girls than boys. The mean height of girls was high till age of 10 years and then boys were found to be taller than girls. The mean weight of boys was more than that of girls almost all age groups. Conclusion: Underweight was found to be higher in this population than compared to national statistics unlike the other parameters. Promoting appropriate dietary habits through effective nutrition education is an effective method to prevent PEM.