ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF 1–5 YEAR OLD CHILDREN IN AN URBAN UNION COUNCIL OF ABBOTTABAD
Abstract
Background: Malnutrition is one the major public health problem in developing countries. In Pakistanmore than 38% of the children are under weight and stunted. The current study is being done to accessthe nutrition status of children of 6 months to 5 years in District Abbottabad. The objectives of thestudy were to determine the macronutrient deficiency both acute and chronic in children 1–5 years ofage, and recommend appropriate interventions. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey wasconducted in an urban Union Council (UC) of District Abbottabad, with a sample size of 100, selectedthrough simple random sampling. For data collection a questionnaire was designed. Results:According to height for age Z-score, out of 100 children studied, 80 were normal while 17 were stuntedand 3 were severely stunted. According to weight for age Z score, 79 children were normal, 11 wereunderweight and 10 were severely underweight. According to weight for height Z-score, 83 childrenwere normal while 13 were wasted and 4 were severely wasted. Conclusion: Macronutrient deficiencyis prevalent in our children. Macronutrient and micronutrient deficiencies can also occur concomitantly.The nutritional deficiency affects our children since their embryonic lives. The nutritional deficiencymakes children vulnerable to contract diarrhoeal diseases, acute respiratory infections and otherinfections that further compound the situation.Keywords: Malnutrition, Nutrition assessment, under-5 children, Anthropometry, wasting, stunting,urban PakistanReferences
SCN. SCN News Update. SCN, Geneva; Dec 2002.
Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2006–07. Economic advisory
wing, Finance division, Government of Pakistan.
Health and Development. available from: www.who.int/nutirtion.
[Cited on Jan 25, 2009]
Nutrition Ecology International Center. Under nutrition and
malnutrition in the world. NEIC, Geneva; 2004.
Rana A, Qureshi FA, Hansotia MF, Randell J, Rasheed S, Khan
IA, et al. Human Nutrition. In: Iliyas M, editor. Public health and
Community Medicine. Karachi: Time Publisher; 2006.P.321–50.
Khan MA, Baker J. Nutrition in primary health care. 2nd ed.
Islamabad: National Nutrition foundation; 1988.
World Health Organization and Food and Agricultural
Organization of the United Nations. Vitamins and minerals
requirements in human nutrition. 2nd ed. Bangkok: WHO/FAO;
Khan MA, Qazi SA. Consequences of malnutrition. Islamabad:
National Nutrition Foundation; 1990.
Ergin F, Okyay P, Atasoylu G, Beser E. Nutritional status and
risk factors of chronic malnutrition in children under five years of
age in Aydin, a western city of Turkey. The Turkish Journal of
Pediatrics 2007;49(3):283–9.
Park K. Park’s textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine. 19th
ed. Jabalpur India: M/s Banarisidas Bhanot; 2007.
National Nutrition Survey of Pakistan, Federal Ministry of
Health. Islamabad: FMOH; 2003.
UNICEF. Progress for children. Number 4. New York, May
p.3–32
Pakistan Census Report 1998, Government of Pakistan.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad is an OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL which means that all content is FREELY available without charge to all users whether registered with the journal or not. The work published by J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad is licensed and distributed under the creative commons License CC BY ND Attribution-NoDerivs. Material printed in this journal is OPEN to access, and are FREE for use in academic and research work with proper citation. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. The Editorial Board of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of material printed in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. However, conclusions and statements expressed are views of the authors and do not reflect the opinion/policy of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad or the Editorial Board.
USERS are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
AUTHORS retain the rights of free downloading/unlimited e-print of full text and sharing/disseminating the article without any restriction, by any means including twitter, scholarly collaboration networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.eu, and social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar and any other professional or academic networking site.
