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Nutritional status of school age children in Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Adanna Anthonia Umeokonkwo1, Maryann Ugochi Ibekwe2, Chukwuma David Umeokonkwo3
1Department of Paediatrics, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. adannaumeokonkwo@gmail.com.
Insights
Malnutrition, including undernutrition and overnutrition, affects school-aged children in Abakaliki. Undernutrition, particularly thinness and stunting, is more prevalent, especially in public and rural schools.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Nutrition Science
Background:
- Malnutrition poses a significant global public health challenge, with severe consequences for children's development, especially in low- and middle-income nations.
- Nigeria faces high rates of childhood malnutrition, with stunting and underweight affecting a substantial proportion of under-five children.
- Ebonyi State has observed an increasing trend in chronic undernutrition among preschool children, highlighting a growing concern.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the nutritional status of school-aged children (6-12 years) in Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
- To determine the prevalence of both undernutrition and overnutrition, including specific indicators like thinness, stunting, overweight, and obesity.
- To identify potential demographic and geographic disparities in malnutrition prevalence within the study population.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted involving 751 school-aged children from 10 primary schools in Abakaliki.
- A multistage sampling technique was employed to ensure representative participant selection.
- Data on socio-demographic factors and nutritional status (using WHO AnthroPlus for BMI, Z-scores) were collected via interviewer-administered questionnaires.
Main Results:
- The overall prevalence of undernutrition was 15.7%, while overnutrition was found in 2.1% of the children.
- Specific undernutrition indicators included underweight (8%), thinness (7.2%), and stunting (9.9%). Overweight and obesity rates were 1.4% and 0.7%, respectively.
- Higher rates of thinness and stunting were observed in children attending public schools, residing in rural areas, and among males, compared to their counterparts in private schools, urban areas, and females.
Conclusions:
- Both undernutrition and overnutrition are present among school-aged children in Abakaliki metropolis.
- Undernutrition represents the predominant form of malnutrition in this population group.
- Targeted interventions addressing the specific needs of vulnerable subgroups, such as those in public and rural schools, are crucial.
Background:
Malnutrition is a major public health problem with short and long-term adverse effects on children particularly in middle and low-income countries. Three out of every ten under-five children are said to be stunted and 19.4% underweight in Nigeria. In Ebonyi State, between 2013 and 2015, the proportion of preschool children with chronic undernutrition rose from 16.2 to 20.6%. Little is documented about the nutritional status of school-age children in Ebonyi State and Nigeria.
Methods:
We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study among 780 children aged 6 to 12 years from 10 primary schools in Abakaliki metropolis. A multistage sampling method was used to select the participants. A pre-tested interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the children and their parents. Body Mass Index (BMI), Z scores of the weight for age, BMI for age and height for age were obtained using the WHO AnthroPlus software. We estimated the prevalence of undernutrition, over-nutrition, underweight, thinness, stunting, overweight and obesity.
Result:
Out of 751 pupils that participated, 397 (52.9%) were females and 595 (79.2%) were in public schools. The overall prevalence of undernutrition was 15.7% and that of over-nutrition was 2.1%. The prevalence of underweight, thinness and stunting, overweight and obesity were 8, 7.2, 9.9, 1.4 and 0.7% respectively. The proportion of pupils who were thin was higher among males (8.7%), those attending public schools (8.6%) and those dwelling in rural parts of the metropolis (14.3%) compared to females (5.8%) private school attendees (1.9%) and urban dwellers (4.6%). Stunting was found to be higher among pupils attending public schools (11.8%) compared to those attending private schools (2.5%). The prevalence of stunting was 19.3% among the pupils residing in rural areas and 5% among the pupils living in urban areas of the metropolis. No pupil in private schools was underweight. Over-nutrition was not found among the pupils in rural areas.
Conclusion:
Both under and over nutrition exist in Abakaliki metropolis. Undernutrition is the more prevalent form of malnutrition among school age children in the metropolis.
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