Nutritional Status of Primary School Children in Pauri Garhwal District of Uttarakhand

The present study was conducted to assess nutritional status of primary school children. Three primary schools of block Pabou were purposely selected. All the students i.e. 138 (63 girls and 75 boys) present on day of survey were enrolled for the study. Height and weight measurements were recorded and Body Mass Index was calculated (BMI). Nutritional status was assessed using different indices based on height and weight of children. Results revealed that about 61.96 per cent of school children (57.14% boys and 67.44% girls) in the age group of 6–8 yr were underweight. About 55.43 per cent children (55.10% boys and 55.81% girls) were stunted in the age group of 6–8 yr. In the age group of 9–10 yr, about 47.83 per cent of children (42.31% boys and 55.00% girls) were stunted. Prevalence of thinness was 36.96 per cent (42.31% boys and 30.00% girls). Findings indicate that undernourishment i.e. underweight, stunting and thinness was high and required immediate intervention.