Evidence Based Assessment of Physical Growth among Primary School Children

Abstract

Background: School children are the most important segment in the society. Their physical growth presents a general health status of a community as a whole. Aim: Apply evidence-based assessment of physical growth among primary school children. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used. Setting: The study was conducted at three primary Governmental schools at Baltiem in Kafr -El-sheik governorate, Egypt. Sample: Simple random sample of 300 students enrolled at the selected setting. Tools: Included (1) An interviewing questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, (2) Nutritional knowledge and reported practices questionnaire, (3) Lifestyle assessment questionnaire, (4) Physical examination and (5) Bio physiological measurements. Results: The main results revealed that 14.0% of the studied children had short stature and11% had long stature. In addition, 11.7% of the studied children were underweight and 15.3% were overweight, also 8% were obese. Also the results indicated that 59.3% of the studied children had unhealthy lifestyle. Conclusions: The study concluded that two third of children had normal weight, less than one quarter of the studied children were underweight. Moreover , three quarters of studied children had normal stature, and one quarter had short and long stature. Also, it concluded that more than half of the studied children had unhealthy lifestyle. In addition, the study clarified that Evidence Based Practice tool is a good reference for assessing physical growth of school children. Recommendation: Nutritional educational programs should be directed to school children, teachers, and parents to enhance their knowledge and practice regarding healthy growth and development.