Abstract:
Introduction:
Malnutrition among children causes serious health consequences in developing
countries like Sri Lanka. According to WHO , in developing countries 35.8% of
primary school children indicate underweight, 42.7% are stunted and 9.2% are
wasted.
Children have been got specific attention when talking about nutrition. Because they
are in growth dynamic phase.
Malnutrition is still a major problem in North Central Province of Sri Lanka includes
Anuradhapura & Polonnaruwa districts. More than one-third of children aging 5–10
years in rural North Central Province are having low BMI. General objective:
To assess the nutritional status of primary school children aged 6 to 10 years of selected
schools in Anuradhapura- Nachchaduwa educational zone. Method:
A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out for a period of one year, primary schools
in Anuradhapura- Nachchaduwa Educational Zone. Simple random sampling method was
used to select sample.
After obtained the informed consent, data were collected through a pre-designed and
modified Interviewer Administered Questionnaire (IAQ). Collected data was analyzed using
SPSS software.Results:
According to the socio demographic details, a total of 421 study participants were
enrolled during the study period and interviewed, of which 44.7% were male and
55.3% were female.7
Overall maintain of Low consumption food frequency leads to low BMI and
Moderate consumption food frequency maintain the normal BMI range. Overweight
or normal BMI associates with High consumption of food frequency.
Among participants, both Normal and Overweight BMI percentage greater in female
students and low BMI high in male students. Conclusion:
Overall students with normal BMI have moderate consumption food frequency.
Out of 58.7% students of normal BMI range, 46.3% have moderate carbohydrate
consumption frequency which is comparatively higher than other nutrition
frequencies.
According to the results carbohydrate intake has more influence than other nutrients
for BMI.
