Description
ABSTRACT
Background: The present investigation was undertaken with the aim of assessing the nutritional status of pre-school children (4-6 years) of Jorhat, Assam through anthropometric indices. Methods: A total of 200 pre-school children (4-6 years) were selected by a multistage random sampling technique from four schools of Jorhat town of Assam. A schedule was formulated to record the data on anthropometric measurements, viz. height, weight and mid-upper arm circumference of the target population. Anthropometric measurements namely height, weight and mid-upper arm circumference of each respondent was recorded using standardized tools and techniques. The mean and standard deviation was calculated from the data obtained on measurement of height, weight and mid-upper arm circumference of the target population. ’t’ test was also employed for determining the level of significance. The BMI was also calculated. The results obtained were compared with 95th centile values of ICMR, NCHS standard, Waterlow classification of height-for- age, Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) classification of weight-for-age and WHO (2007) Z-scores. Results: The present study revealed that the height measurements of the target children were significantly lower than the 95th centile values of height (ICMR) (p<0.01). The 4 years children had normal heights which were quite comparable with NCHS standard while the 5- and 6-years children had significantly lower height than the NCHS standard (p<0.01). As per Waterlow classification of height-for- age, 63 per cent of the children had normal height while 32 per cent had marginal malnutrition, 2.5 per cent had moderate malnutrition and a negligible quantam (0.5%) had severe malnutrition. WHO (2007) Z-scores of height-for-age revealed that 71.5 per cent of the children had normal height-for-age while 28.5 per cent were stunted. The weight measurements revealed that the 4-6 years boys and 4 year girls had normal weight as compared to 95th centile values of weight ( ICMR) and NCHS standard whereas the mean weights of the 5 and 6 years girls were significantly lower than the 95th centile values of weight (ICMR) as well as the international (NCHS) standard (p<0.05). The Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) classification of weight-for-age revealed that 85 per cent of the respondents were in the normal range of nutritional status whereas 15 per cent had Grade I malnutrition and 0.5 per cent had Grade II malnutrition. As per WHO (2007) Z-scores of weight-for-age, majority (84.5 per %) were in the normal category whereas 15.5 per cent were underweight. The mean observed Mid- Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) of the 5 year boys and girls were significantly lower than the ICMR standards (p<0.05). WHO (2007) Z-scores of BMI-for-age categorized majority (66.5 per cent) of the children as normal while 12 per cent as moderate undernourished and 3 per cent as severely undernourished and 17.5 and 4 per cent of them as overweight and obese respectively. Conclusion: The present study revealed that majority (84.5 per cent) of the respondents had normal nutritional status while (17 per cent) had different grades of malnutrition ranging from mild to moderate malnutrition.
Key words: nutritional status, pre-school children, Waterlow classification
