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Prevalence of undernutrition in Nepalese children

Arijit Ghosh1, Prakash Adhikari, Sutanu Dutta Chowdhury

  • 1Department of Clinical Physiology, Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Annals of Human Biology
|December 3, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Undernutrition is prevalent in Nepalese children aged 6-10 years in Kathmandu Valley. Stunting and underweight affect both boys and girls similarly, highlighting a significant public health concern.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Public Health
  • Growth Monitoring

Background:

  • Nutritional status assessment in children is a key indicator of community socio-economic development.
  • Understanding child nutrition is crucial for assessing overall community well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of undernutrition among children in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley.
  • To assess the nutritional status of Nepalese children aged 6-10 years.

Main Methods:

  • Measured height and weight of 1988 children (aged 6-10 years) from randomly selected schools.
  • Calculated Body Mass Index (BMI) using weight/height(2).
  • Assessed nutritional status using WHO growth curves (height-for-age, weight-for-age, BMI-for-age) and Z-scores.

Main Results:

  • Height-for-age and weight-for-age growth curves fell between the 3rd and 15th percentiles.
  • BMI-for-age growth curves were above the 25th percentile.
  • Prevalence of stunting and underweight was high and similar in both boys and girls (approx. 45% stunting, 50% underweight).

Conclusions:

  • A high prevalence of undernutrition exists among Nepalese children in Kathmandu Valley.
  • The study found similar rates of stunting and underweight in both genders.
Abstract

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