Abstract
Nutritional status is dependent on nutrient intake and utilization. Malnutrition is also expressed as various types of deficiency disorders. The present study was a cross-sectional study, conducted in Ghaziabad. Five hundred children of both sexes, in the age group of 3 -15 years were enrolled for the study. Age, height was measured, pallor assessed and BMI was calculated for all children in the study. The data was analysed by SPSS version 17.0 and ANOVA followed by Tukey test. The overall prevalence of anaemia was 22.2 %, 18.61 % boys and 31.43 % girls were pallor positive. Comparison of pallor positive children in different age groups of boys and girls showed that pallor was more widely present in girls of age group 12 – 15 years compared to boys of same age group. The present study brings out the fact that the problem of anaemia is present more widely in children than the commonly considered group of pregnant women. We suggest that large scale studies should be undertaken to assess the nutritional and anaemic status of our young population. Also, nutritional advice and supplementation needs to be given to improve the health status of children.
Keywords: Malnutrition, Anaemia, Pallor, School children.
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Corresponding Author
Dr Shikha Gautam
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