Variations in the nutritional status of  school going children in four rural districts of Punjab, Pakistan

Faheem Mustafa; Umar  Bacha; Mubbasher  Munir; Afifa  Tanveer; Hafsa  Tahir; Mohsina  Naseem; Rida Khan; Muhammad Naveed  Afzal

doi:10.23751/pn.v23i1.8721

Variations in the nutritional status of school going children in four rural districts of Punjab, Pakistan

Authors

Faheem Mustafa School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of Management and Technology, C-II, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan.
Umar Bacha School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of Management and Technology, C-II, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan.
Mubbasher Munir School of Business and Economics (SBE), University of Management and Technology, C-II, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan.
Afifa Tanveer School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of Management and Technology, C-II, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan.
Hafsa Tahir School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of Management and Technology, C-II, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan.
Mohsina Naseem School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of Management and Technology, C-II, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan.
Rida Khan School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of Management and Technology, C-II, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan.
Muhammad Naveed Afzal School of Health Sciences (SHS), University of Management and Technology, C-II, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan.

Keywords:

BMI; age; stunting; prevalence of thinness; underweight; rural areas of Pakistan

Abstract

Childhood is a time when maximum growth in relation to physical, mental, emotional and psychological growth takes place. Diet and nutrition plays a key role for their health and wellbeing. Our main goal was to assess the nutritional status (prevalence of underweight, thinness, and stunting) in the school going children Punjab, Pakistan (district Layyah, Rajanpur, Okara and Bhawalnagar). This cross-sectional study was carried out from April to August 2016 on 399 children (48 female and 351 male) of ages between 9 and 16 years. Anthropometric measurements; weight, height, and age were taken in kilogram (Kg), centimeter (cm), and years correspondingly. According to the results, 23.1%, 17.5%, and 28.1% children were found to be underweight, slimness (thinness) and stunting. Moreover, 22.2% male children was found underweight, 30.8% stunted, and 13.7% was thin. Regarding the female participants 29.2% were underweight, 8.3% stunted, and 45.8% thinness, indicating stunting prevalence is more in male while underweight and thinness prevalence is more in female students. These results will be useful for policy makers while developing nutritional intervention programs.

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