Perceptions of School Teachers Regarding Nutritional Status and Dietary Practices among School Going Children in Selected Rural School, Bhubaneswar

The nutritional status of the children determines the future productivity of our human Resources. School children are important group because they often form right proportion of population. Balanced and sufficient nutritional intake is most essential for children to promote optimal growth and development, to protect and maintain health, to prevent nutritional deficiencies and various illnesses to reserve for starvation and dietary stress. In state Odisha childhood malnutrition is still a public health concern affecting both children and adolescents. However, school-age children are not always included in national surveys. The nutritional status of children is a good indicator of health status of a community. Identification of nutritional deficiency is very important to promote growth and development and also to improve the health status of the children.

Of study were to determine the nutritional status and dietary habits of school going children of age group 6–12 years and associated socio-economic factors and teacher's perception for abnormal nutritional status.

Shows the overall prevalence of underweight was 34.16%, overweight 30.83%, obese 7.5% and 27.5% were normal in the studied school children. Nutritional deficiency among school children (6–12 years) were 53.33% dental caries, 11.66% skin problems, 10% pallor, 6.66% with koilonychias, 5.83% loss of hair lustres 4.16% conjuctival xerosis and 3.33% bitos spot. Dietary habits depict 32% had good dietary habits and maximum (68%) had poor dietary habits. The main reason expressed by school teacher was socio-economic status of family, illiterate parents and food habit at home of children.

Hence study suggests regular nutritional awareness programme among parents and teacher must be added in the school policy for better control of dietary patterns of school children.