Department of Community Medicine, J J M Medical College, Davangere, Karnataka, India
*Corresponding author: Dayalaxmi T Shedole, Post graduate Student, Department of Community Medicine, J J M Medical College, Davangere-577004,Karnataka, India. E-mail- daya_laxmi@yahoo.co.in, Mob: +919916246435
The best global indicator of a child's well being is growth. Height has been shown to be related to productivity & a 1% loss in adult's height as a result of childhood stunting is associated with 1.4% loss in productivity. Stunting is associated with impaired mental development & poor school performance later on. As today's children are the citizens of tomorrow's world, their survival, protection & development are the pre requisite for the future development of humanity.
To assess stunting among primary school children & to compare stunting among government & private primary school children.
A cross sectional study was conducted for a period of two months in government & private primary schools of Davangere city, Karnataka. A total of 362 children of 1st to 4th STD were included in the study. Selection of schools & students was done by simple random & systematic random sampling. Height in centimeters was measured for all children by using wall mounted stadiometer. The data was entered into Microsoft Excel sheet & analyzed by using software SPSS version 17.
The overall prevalence of stunting in this study is 14.36% of which 13% were stunted & 1.4% were severely stunted. The prevalence of stunting was more among government school children 13.8% & severe stunting was more among private school children 1.5%.
It is seen from this study that nutritional status of children studying in government schools & belonging to Muslim religion is more severe. Girls are affected more than the boys, may be because of gender discrimination.
Stunting, Nutrition Education, Primary School Children
