Prevalence of underweight among school children of government Urdu higher primary schools of Azad Nagar and its surrounding areas of Bangalore

Abstract

Health and nutritional status among school children of government Urdu higher primary schools was studied with the help of clinical examination, and height and weight measurements. A total of 500 children, 299 (59.80%) boys and 201 (40.20%) girls, formed the study group. With clinical symptoms and measurements of height and weight, the prevalence of underweight was estimated. A close proximation was observed in the appearance of deficiency symptoms and undernutrition between boys and girls, depicting their poor state of health and nutrition. In the present study, nutritional status and underweight was found highly related to the personal hygiene and socio-economic status. Main emphasis may be given to nutrition education, personal hygiene education and health education, apart from the regular educational activities in the community.

Keywords: Underweight, school children, nutrition education.