ABSTRACT

Adequate assessment of anthropometry and feeding pattern is of critical importance in children so as to identify those with poor diet who are at increased risk of becoming stunted, underweight, wasted, overweight or obese. This study was conducted to determine the anthropometric status and feeding pattern of children aged 6-12years and compare between children attending public and private schools in Umuahia North Local Government Area, Abia State. A cross sectional comparative study was conducted among 356 children who were randomly selected from four public schools and four private schools in Umuahia North LGA, Abia State. A well structured and validated questionnaire was used to collect information on the socioeconomic data, anthropometric data and feeding pattern of the children. Descriptive statistics was used to sort the anthropometric characteristics and WHO anthropometry software was used to evaluate the height for age z-score (HAZ), weight for age z-score (WAZ), weight for height z-score (WHZ) and basal metabolic index for age z-score (BAZ). The study revealed that equal percentage (1.7%) of children had height for age (stunted) in both public and private schools. About 5.1% of the children in public schools had weight for height (wasted) while 9.6% of the children in private schools had weight for height (wasted). BMI for age (overweight/obese) was seen to be higher in private (7.9%) schools than in public schools (1.7%). BMI for age (overweight/obese) was also found to be higher among children aged 6-9years in both public and private schools. The p value for BMI for age showed a significant association (p=0.002) with the age of the children in public schools. In private schools, the mother’s educational level was significantly associated with stunting (p=0.000) and underweight (p=0.000). None of the high income earners had a stunted, wasted, underweight and overweight child but in private schools, high income earners had 25.0% wasted and 28.6% overweight children. The implication of this study is that children are the most vulnerable members of the society in Nigeria and the nutritional status of these children should be a primary indicator of socioeconomic development. The existence of malnutrition among school age children which is affected by poor feeding pattern will hinder the socioeconomic development of the society and also lead to waste in human potential