A Study on Nutritional Status of School Children in Rural, Semi Urban and Urban Areas of Tamil Nadu

BACKGROUND: The health and nutritional status of children is an index of national investment in the development of its future manpower. Malnutrition affects the child’s physical and cognitive growth and increases the susceptibility to infections while having an adverse impact on economic growth of the country indirectly. With 40% of the world’s malnourished living in India, we face a double jeopardy of malnutrition. The objective of this study is to evaluate this changing trend and to determine the burden of malnutrition. METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out involving 300 children in the age group 11 to 14 years from urban, semi-urban and rural areas. RESULTS: 67.33% of children were underweight, of which 29.67% were from rural areas; 6% were found to be overweight or obese, of which 4.67% were from urban areas. There is a significant statistical difference in the prevalence of underweight children in social class 4&5 as compared to class 1, 2 & 3. The mean calorie consumption of the study population was 1333 kcal which supplies only 50% of calorie requirement by ICMR standards; the mean calorie intake by children in rural area was much lower than in urban area. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights that children from rural areas and belonging to lower socio-economic classes are more nutritionally deprived than their counterparts. This difference highlights the necessity of a differential approach in combating malnutrition.