Nutritional status and dietary habits of primary school children aged 6 to 10 years of Nachchaduwa Educational Zone in Anuradhapura District

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.