ABSTRACT

Undernutrition has led to half of all deaths and 28% of stunting in children worldwide. In the developing countries, 52% and 34-62% of the school-age children are stunted and underweight, respectively. As school age is a period of physical and mental development, prolonged undernutrition in this age group impairs their growth. Children are most vulnerable to undernutrition due to their low dietary intake, less access to food, inequitable distribution of food within households, improper food storage and preparation, dietary taboos and infections with pathogens. This study assessed the Prevalence and risks factors of undernutrition among school age children in Umuahia North L.G.A of Abia state. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the study sample. Four community primary schools were selected from a list of community school in Umuahia North. Children within the age of 6-12 were the respondents and were randomly selected from primary three down to six which makes the total of 260. Structured and validated questionnaires were used in data collection. Data collection included the socio-economic and demographic characteristics and the dietary pattern of the school children, the weight and height measurement of the children was taken to establish the anthropometric status. Data obtained from this study were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentages and pearson's correlation). Significance was accepted at P<0.05. This study revealed that 51.5% of the respondents were male while 48.8% were female. The nutritional status shows that 16.6% of the respondents were stunted, 6.9% underweight and 5.0% indicated thinness. Risks factor of family size and nutritional status of the children was not significant at (p>0.05). However, significant relationship (p< 0.05) was identified between nutritional status with the risk factors of mother’s occupation, mother’s income, drinking clean water, eating frequently, good health facilities and skipping meal. The study reveals that only a few of the respondents were undernourished. Awareness to parents on the need for appropriate nutrition among school age children should be encouraged by all sectors, Health workers should also help to address the need of adequate nutrition.