011 - A Study of Anthropometric Indices among Pupils in Rural Communities around Kainji Dam, Niger State

The physical and mental development of pupils could be hampered by inadequate food intake and infections, with immediate and long-term consequences. This has implications for poor school performance, lower intelligent quotient, poor psychosocial development, and reduced cognitive functioning. This study evaluated the growth and distribution of body fat between pupils from 5 to 19 years old. A cross-sectional study was conducted among pupils from five primary schools in different communities around the Kainji Dam. This assessment was based on a comparison with the reference standards set by the World Health Organization to determine their deviations. A qualified nurse took physical measurements for age, height, and body weight using an electronic scale and stadiometer. The data was analyzed with Anthroplus v1.0.4 software. The overall prevalence of stunting was 21.5%, with 8% having severe stunting. The prevalence of thinness was 35.2% with wasting of 11.2%, while the overall prevalence of underweight for children > 10 years was not calculated. The prevalence of underweight in children aged 5 to 10 years was 16.9%, with 2.4% being severely underweight. The curves for boys and girls deviate from the normal distribution. Women have a higher percentage of stunted growth than men. This study showed a high prevalence of thinness and stunting, which is a consequence of poor diet resulting from multiple and interrelated circumstances such as poor diet, dietary practices, and repeated infections. Interventions such as Home Grown School Feeding Scheme of the government are a right step to improve the nutritional status of school pupils in rural communities in Nigeria and this should be accepted as a policy.

Anthropometric Indices

Pupils

Malnutrition

Anthroplus

Food intake

Policy