Assessment of Nutritional Status of Rural Primary School Students at Abu-Kbeer District, Sharkia Governorate

Background: Malnutrition is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in childhood worldwide. Aim of the study: to evaluate overall prevalence of malnutrition, and  to assess influence of selected risk factors upon nutritional status, through assessment of nutritional status of rural school children (6‑12 years) of Abu-Kbeer district, Sharkia Governorate, measurement of Hb level, and identification of factors associated with malnutrition of the studied group.
Subjects and methods: a cross section study was conducted  in Abu-Kbeer district, Sharkia Governorate during the academic year 2017-2018 on 1732 rural school students (6‑12 years), all were subjected to hemoglobin estimation, measurement of weight and height and calculating BMI and  assessment of socio- demographic status , feeding practices and diet quality through a semi-structured Arabic questionnaire for their parents.
Results: 8.4% of the students were stunting, 12% were underweight, 5.5% were overweight, 7.4% were obese and 58.5% were anemic.93.5% had incomplete diet. Anemia is statistically significantly associated with female sex, very low social class, incomplete diet, stunting and underweight. No significant association was detected between anemia and age.
Conclusion: prevalence of malnutrition is high among rural school students; and anemia is strongly associated with incomplete diet. We recommend increasing public awareness especially mothers about nutritional needs of children.