Assessment of the Nutritional Status among School Aged Children in Masaga ‘B’ Community, Bida Local Government Area, Niger State

Abstract

The nutritional status of children is a proxy indicator that can be used to assess the entire community health status and one of the major predictors of child survival and academic competence. Despite the various efforts, malnutrition among children remains a major public health issue in Nigeria. The study objective was to assess the nutritional status among school aged children in Masaga ‘B’ community Bida Local Government Area, Niger State. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 school aged children. Sociodemographic characteristics, usual dietary intake and anthropometric index of the children were collected by using semi-structured questionnaire. Results: age categorized into 5 – 10 years old were 60%, and 40% were 11 – 15 years old. Results showed that 10% of the children were severely malnourished, 9.5% moderately malnourished, 56% of the respondents were normal, 16% were overweight, and 8.5% were obese. Conclusion: The findings showed that malnutrition is still a major public health problem among young children due to poor socioeconomic status of their parents, and thus there is a need for better nutrition of the Nigeria child.