Prevalence of Undernutrition among Underprivileged Preschool Children (2-6 Yrs) of Midnapore Town, India

Background: Malnutrition in preschool children is a major public health problem globally. It is more common in developing countries. It affects growth and development thus impairing both physical and mental ability. Methods: This community based, cross-sectional survey was carried out among 658 underprivileged children (315 boys) of 2-6 years from Midnapore, India. The nutritional status of the children, Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF), and the index of their stunting, underweight and wasting were evaluated. The same parameters were calculated as Z-score using the suitable reference values. The One-way ANOVA analysis (F value), Student’s ‘t’ tests and Chisquare test were done to evaluate the association amongst individuals, group or set of data. Results: The overall prevalence of undernutrition was; underweight 43.77%, stunting 40.58% and wasting 23.40%. Severe underweight (Z score <-3), stunting and wasting was 12.61%, 16.72% and 5.32%, respectively. Prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was higher in boys (46.98%, 43.17%, and 25.40%) than girls (40.82%, 38.19% and 21.57% respectively). Altogether, the CIAF was 58.21%, and gender-wise boys, 61.3% and girls 55.39%. The indices of stunting, underweight and wasting of the studied population were 0.69, 0.75, and 0.40 respectively. Conclusion: The present study revealed a certain extent of prevalence of undernutrition among preschool children in the studied area. It is differentially manifested in boys and girls. Several actions have been initiated in this area by the Government at policy making and implementation level. Nutritional awareness and the up gradation of education in the population may improve the present scenario.