ABSTRACT

Milk and milk product is a total foodstuff which has a unique contribution to the nutritional status as well as the health status of the smallholder household members. Milk consumption among children and adolescents has decreased over time in both developed and developing countries, in spite of its undeniable nutritive value. This study was conducted to access the milk and milk product consumption behavior, anthropometric and calcium status of the school aged (6-12 years) children in Umuneke, Udi L.G.A of  Enugu State. This Cross-sectional study was employed to obtain data from the school aged children using multistage sampling (which included purposive and simple random sampling methods), to select 215 students. A self administrative questionnaire was designed based on the objectives of the study. Using IBM-SPSS version 20.0 software, the collected data was analyzed via descriptive statistics.  The results revealed that 51.6% of females participated in the study; 30.2% were in primary six (6); 39.5% attended public schools and 57.2% lived with their father and mother. The socio-demographic characteristics of the parents revealed that 39.5% of fathers had no formal education and 36.7% were unemployed. The table also showed that 35.3% of the parents/guardian had an average income between ₦18,500 - ₦49,000.  Majority of the children (97.7%) consumed milk, and just a few (2.3%) did not. Furthermore, 37.7% consumed milk during breakfast and while 29.3% had no particular meal they consume milk with.  Most of the children (85.1%) who consumed milk had no particular milk they preferred. The respondents were accessed on their knowledge of milk and milk products and the result showed that they had an average knowledge (59.1%) of milk and its products. The result on attitude showed the respondents had a positive attitude at 54.0%. The result on anthropometric status showed that 57.0% had a normal weight for age, 43.0% were underweight and 50.0% were stunted, this result also showed that the children were at risk of stunting and underweight, they were also at risk of hypocalcaemia with 45.4% of the calcium level being low.