Assessment of nutritional status of rural school going children (7-9 years) of Hisar district, Haryana
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Date
2012
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Publisher
CCSHAU
Abstract
The present study was conducted in Hisar district of Har y ana state to assess the nutritional status of the
rural school going children and impart nutrition education to the mothers of selected school children. Two hundred
children of 7-9 y ears age (100 boy s and 100 girls) from two villages i.e. Kaimri and Mangali of Hisar I block were
selected randomly . Nutritional status of children was assessed in terms of dietary assessment, anthropometric
measurement (height, weight and skin fold thickness) and clinical assessment of signs and sy mptoms of various
nutrient deficiency diseases. Dietary assessment was done by 24 hour dietary recall method for three consecutive
day s of 100 children. The results of the study revealed that consumption of foods like cereals, pulses, fruits,
GLVís, milk and milk products, fats and oils, sugar and jagger y were inadequate in the diets of rural school
children (both boy s and girls). Nutrients like energy , fat, ‚- carotene, B-complex vitamins, Vitamin C, I ron and
Calcium were found limiting in the diets of school children. I t was found that family size, fatherís occupation and
parentsí education had significant (P<0.05) effect on food intake of selected children. Effect of caste, family size,
fatherís occupation and working status of mother, were found to be significant (P<0.05) on nutrient intake of the
children. Family size and family t y pe as well as education and working status of mothers were found to have
significant (P<0.05) effect on the anthropometric measurements of the selected school children. Nutrition
education was imparted with the help of lectures, demonstrations and AV- aids to 50 mothers of the selected
children. I t was found that majority of the mothers had inadequate knowledge regarding nutrition before imparting
nutrition education. Significant (P<0.01) increase in knowledge scores regarding importance of balanced diet and
other important aspects was observed after imparting nutrition education to selected mothers. So there is an urgent
need to educate mothers of school going children about the importance of balanced diet and preparation of
nutrient-rich recipes based on locally available food stuffs in the childrenís diet to improve their nutritional status.
The results of the study can be of use for planning need-based supplementary nutrition programs by the policy makers for the school children. Hence it can be concluded that f eeding of nutrient rich supplements based on
locally available food stuffs can go a long way in improving nutritional status of children which will contribute in
the well- being of the children who are the future of the nationís pro sperity .
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Keywords
Irrigation, Liquid wastes, Economic systems, Beverages, Gypsum, Yields, Crops, Grain, Rice, Crop residues