Assessment of Prevalence of Malnutrition among Preschool Children (Under 5 years) in Western UP (India)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54741/ssjar.3.2.2Keywords:
assessment, children, malnutrition, prevalence, under 5 yearsAbstract
Background: Initial 6 years of child’s life are critical in terms of growth, development and health. Uttar Pradesh is the largest Indian state in term of population size and contributes approx. 16.4% of country’s population. According to NFHS-5 in Uttar Pradesh, 32.1% children are under weight and 17.3% are wasted in U5 category. The present study focused on the prevalence of malnutrition in U5 children
Objective: To assess the prevalence of malnutrition among preschool children (U5 years) in western UP..
Materials & Methods: A study was carried out at selected schools of Meerut city (UP). A sample of 268 preschool children (under 5 years) was investigated with prior signed consent from their parents for participating in the study.
Results: Out of 268 children, 39.99% were males (24.63% of 3 – 4 years and 14.93% of 4.1 – 5 years) and 60.45% were females (41.04% of 3 – 4 years and 19.4% of 4.1 – 5 years). 65.67% children were recorded normal and the prevalence of grade – I was highest (22.01%), followed by grade – II (9.7%), grade – III (2.61%) and no prevalence of grade – IV. Regarding wasting, most children (82.46%) were well-nourished, 17.54% were suffering from MAM and no prevalence of SAM among investigated children.
Conclusions: The status of malnutrition among 3 - 5 years children is a serious health concern, contributing to the whopping crisis of malnutrition in children, especially of grade – I malnutrition and wasting in U5 children, and needs effective strategies to be prevented.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Kanishka Singh, Dr. Pankaj Chhabra
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