NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN ATTENDING MID DAY MEAL SCHEME IN GOVERNMENT PRIMARY SCHOOL IN ALIGARH CITY

Abstract

Research Question: What is the nutritional status of children attending mid day meal scheme in government primary schools in the age group 6-14 years. Study design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Six government primary schools of urban areas of Aligarh city. Simple Random Sampling (SRS) was used. Study variables: Height, weight and general physical examination. Results: The mean height and weight of the present study was compared with that of ICMR standard. The mean difference between them was studied by‘t’ test and it was concluded that the difference is statistically not significant (P> .05). The prevalence of stunting of boys and girls was 75.35% and 74.68% respectively and wasting was observed as 86.95% for boys and 76.53% for girls. The association of stunting and wasting with that of age group was studied by chi-square test further it was concluded that age has not played any significant role in stunting of both boys and girls and wasting for boys only. Statistically age was significantly associated with wasting of girls only (P<.05). Conclusion: The study revealed poor nutritional status of school children receiving mid day meal every day.